George  Washington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
FAMILY  OF 

COLONEL  FLOWERS 


PRE-HISTORIC 


RACES. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/prehistoricraces01fost 


Sketch.  —  Ancient  Works  at  Marietta,  Ohio. 


PRE-HISTORIC  RACES 

OF  THE 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


BY  J.  W.  FOSTER,  LL.D., 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  “PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY-'''  ETC.  -  JOINT 
AUTHOR  OF  FOSTER  AND  VUITNEY’S  REPORT  OP  THE  “GEOLOGY  OF 
LAKE  SUPERIOR  REGION;’’  LATE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE  *  PRESIDENT 
OP  THE  CHICAGO  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES;  AND  MEMBER 
OF  OTHER  LEARNED  SOCIETIES. 


SECOND  EDITION. 

U 


CHICAGO: 

C.  GRIGGS  AND  COMPANY. 
LONDON:  TRUBNER  &  CO. 
1873. 


Al 


rl 

IT 

‘.d 


^HSOKUa* 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress^  in  the  year  1873,  by 


SAMUEL  C.  GRIGGS, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Cl  T.  MASON, 

9/3,y3 

F7f.:p 


PREFACE. 


TN  early  manhood,  when  for  the  first  time  I  gazed 
upon  the  works  of  that  mysterious  people  known  as 
the  Mound-builders,  my  mind  received  a  class  of  im¬ 
pressions  which  subsequent  years  have  failed  to  efface. 
These  works  are  in  the  vicinity  of  Newark,  Ohio  ;  and 
although  not  the  most  stupendous,  are  the  most  elabo¬ 
rate  in  the  whole  series.  It  was  a  bright  summer’s 
morning,  and  the  sunlight,  streaming  through  the  open¬ 
ings  of  the  dense  canopy  of  foliage  above,  fell  upon  the 
ground  in  flickering  patches.  A  slumberous  silence 
filled  the  air ;  and  I  confess  that,  as  I  traced  out  the 
labyrinthine  system  of  earthworks  here  displayed,  with 
its  great  circles  and  squares,  its  octagons,  gateways, 
parallel  roads,  and  tumuli,  the  whole  spread  over  an 
area  of  several  square  miles ;  and  as  I  speculated  upon 
the  purposes  of  their  construction,  and  on  the  origin 
and  extinction  of  the  people  by  whom  they  were  reared, 
I  was  profoundly  impressed. 

Gibbon  relates  that  it  was  among  the  ruins  of  the 
Roman  capital  he  first  conceived  the  idea  of  writing 
the  history  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  that  empire.  I 

iii 


IV 


PKEFACE. 


cannot  say,  “  comparing  small  things  with  great,”  that 
it  was  amid  the  sepulchres  of  a  vanished  race,  I  con¬ 
ceived  the  idea  of  writing  this  work ;  but  I  cau  say, 
that,  in  after  life,  I  have  never  passed  one  of  their 
monuments,  however  humble,  without  experiencing 
feelings  akin  to  my  first  impressions. 

In  exploring  the  physical  geography  of  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  Valley  and  the  Lake  Region,  I  have  had  abundant 
opportunities  for  examining  the  most  notable  of  the 
Mound-builders’  works.  At  various  times  I  have  pub¬ 
lished  papers  on  the  Archgeology  of  this  Continent, 
among  which  I  may  enumerate  the  following  : 

A  Chapter  on  ancient  Copper-mining.  (Foster  and 
Whitney’s  Report  on  the  Geology  of  the  Lake  Superior 
Region.  Washington,  1850.  Printed  for  the  House 
of  Representatives.) 

Description  of  Samples  of  Cloth,  from  the  Mounds 
of  Ohio.  (Transactions  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  1852.) 

On  the  Antiquity  of  Man  in  North  America ,  and 

Descriptions  of  certain  Stone  and  Copper  Implements 
used  by  the  Mound-builders.  (Transactions  of  the 
Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  i,  part  ii.  1869.) 

On  recent  Discoveries  in  Ethnology  as  connected  with 
Geology: — An  Address  delivered  at  Troy,  New  York, 
as  the  retiring  President  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science.  (Transactions,  etc., 
for  1870.) 

On  certain  Peculiarities  in  the  Crania  of  the  Mound- 


PREP  ACE. 


V 


builders.  (Transactions  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science.  1872.) 

On  the  Pottery  of  the  Mound-builders.  (American 
Naturalist,  February  Number,  1873.) 

I  have  also  written  for  the  magazines  of  the  day,  several 
articles  relating  to  American  Archaeology  which  I  do 
not  deem  of  sufficient  importance  to  enumerate  in  this 
connection.  The  substance  of  these  papers  has  been 
incorporated  in  the  following  pages,  without  the  desig¬ 
nation  of  quotation  marks,  and  the  fact  that  they  were 
published  at  different  intervals,  will  account  for  the 
repetition,  in  some  instances,  of  the  same  ideas. 

It  will  thus  be  apparent  that  I  enter  upon  this  work, 
not  as  a  mere  compiler,  but  as  an  original  observer. 
Most  of  the  illustrations  have  been  derived  from 
materials  now  for  the  first  time  brought  together.  As 
this  volume  is  intended  only  as  a  Compendium  of  our 
Antiquities,  to  be  restricted  to  a  given  number  of 
pages,  I  have  been  compelled  for  the  most  part  to 
represent  groups  by  a  single  illustration,  and  on  a 
greatly  reduced  scale,  and  to  discuss  many  questions 
relating  to  our  Ethnology  in  a  summary,  and  in  what 
some  may  consider  a  superficial,  manner. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  is  entitled  to  much  credit 
for  having  brought  out  such  admirable  works  as  “  The 
Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,”  by 
Squier  and  Davis ;  “  The  Antiquities  of  Wisconsin,” 
by  I.  A.  Lapham ;  and  “  The  Archeology  of  the  United 
States,”  by  S.  F.  Haven ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  brief 


VI 


PREFACE. 


papers  on  local  antiquities  which  have  appeared  in  the 
Annual  Reports.  It  has  also  caused  to  be  translated 
and  published  many  valuable  papers  by  foreign  authors, 
which  have  been  essential  aids  to  the  American  Eth¬ 
nologist  in  keeping  him  advised  as  to  the  progress  of 
scientific  opinion  abroad,  and  affording  him  the  means 
of  comparison  in  his  individual  researches. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  honored  Secretary  of  this 
Institution,  Professor  Henry,  will  bring  out  anillustrated 
catalogue  of  American  Antiquities,  not  restricted  to  the 
Smithsonian  Collections,  but  embracing  those  of  indi¬ 
viduals  throughout  the  United  States. 

Before  closing  this  preface,  I  desire  to  express  my 
thanks  to  many  private  individuals  and  Scientific  Asso¬ 
ciations  for  having  given  me  access  to  their  Archaeologi¬ 
cal  Collections,  and  in  many  instances  for  having  fur¬ 
nished  me  with  explanatory  notes.  These  courtesies  I 
have  endeavored  to  acknowledge  in  the  body  of  the 
work.  So  great,  indeed,  has  been  the  profusion  of 
materials  placed  at  my  disposal  by  the  kindness  of 
friends,  that  I  soon  found,  after  entering  seriously  upon 
this  work,  that  to  properly  figure  and  describe  them, 
would  defeat  the  object  in  view,  by  making  a  volume 
too  costly  and  too  cumbersome  for  popular  reading. 

If  the  public  manifest  sufficient  interest  in  questions 
relating  to  our  Pre-historic  Archaeology  to  justify  the 
expense,  I  may  hereafter,  if  fife  and  health  are  spared, 
draw  more  liberally  from  the  materials  at  my  command. 

Chicago,  May  1,  1873. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN - EVIDENCES  IN  EUROPE. 

p>aB. 

PROGRESS  of  Ethnology — Retarded  by  popular  dogmas  — 
Epochs  in  the  career  of  the  Pre-historic  Man  —  Contemporary 
with  cave-bear  and  mammoth  —  Progress  of  discovery — In 
France  —  In  England  —  Bone -caves  —  Cave  of  Aurignac  — 
Climate  of  the  Drift  Period — Reindeer  Epoch — Character  of 
the  Pre-historic  Man  —  Engraving  by  Cave-men  —  Epoch  of 
domesticated  existing  animals — Danish  antiquities — Climatic 
changes  —  Lacustrine  habitations  of  Switzerland  —  Era  of 
domesticated  animals  and  plants  —  Pre-historic  remains  in  Nile 
Valley  —  Note;  Earliest  traces  of  man _ _ _  17 


CHAPTER  II. 


ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN - EVIDENCES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


T  T  UMAN  relics  in  gold-drift  of  California  —  Calaveras  skull  — 
Plummet  from  San  Joaquin  Valley — Basket-work  at  Petit 
Anse,  La. —  Human  bone  in  Loess,  at  Natchez  —  Arrow-heads 
in  connection  with  bones  of  mastodon,  in  Missouri  —  Stone- 
hatchet  in  Drift,  Jersey  County,  Illinois  —  Pre-historic  remains 
in  Colorado  and  Wyoming —  Pottery  found  with  the  remains  of 
megatherium  —  Human  skeleton  at  New  Orleans —  In  a  calcare¬ 
ous  conglomerate  in  Florida  —  Ancient  hearths  in  the  Ohio  Val¬ 
ley  —  Marine  shells  in  the  Alluvium  of  Ohio  —  The  works  of  the 
Mound-builders  —  Parallelism  of  the  Antiquity  of  Man  in  the 
two  hemispheres  —  Contemporary  mammals  —  The  elephant 
and  mastodon  —  Rhinoceros — Musk-ox  —  The  great  musk-ox 
—  Reindeer — Irish  elk’-  and  his  American  congener — The 
aurochs  —  The  bison  and  his  American  congener — The  great 

vii 


VUl 


CONTENTS. 


ox  —  The  horse  —  The  cave-lion  and  great  American  lion  — 

The  great  American  tiger  —  The  cave-bear  and  its  American 
congener  —  Cave-hyena  —  The  great  beaver — Northern  types 
common  to  both  hemispheres  —  Southern  types  widely  divergent 
—  Probable  connection  between  the  two  hemispheres  in  former 
times  —  Faunae  of  the  Miocene  and  Pliocene  compared  —  Man 
amid  these  changes  —  His  fertility  in  resources  —  Note  :  Human 
remains  in  the  bone-caves  of  Brazil  —  Along  the  Coast  of 
Ecuador _ _ _ _ _ _ _  52 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  MOUND-BUILDERS - THE  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION 

OF  THEIR  WORKS. 


I  'HEIR  works  as  distinctive  as  those  of  the  Pelasgi  —  Ancient 
works  in  the  Northwest — Animal  mounds  in  Wisconsin  — 
Works  at  Aztalan  —  On  the  Upper  Mississippi  —  In  the  Lower 
Valley  of  the  Missouri  —  At  St.  Louis  and  in  the  American 
Bottom  —  Great  mound  at  Cahokia  —  Ancient  cemeteries  on  the 
Merrimac  River  —  At  Chester,  Illinois — In  Perry  County,  Mis¬ 
souri —  In  Southern  Indiana — In  Tennessee  —  Similar  mode 
of  burial  practised  in  Great  Britain  —  Ancient  works  on  the 
Lower  Mississippi  —  At  New  Madrid  —  At  Florence,  Ala. — 
Along  the  Yazoo  —  The  great  mound  at  Seltzertown,  Miss. — 
Works  in  Arkansas — In  Louisiana  —  On  the  Gulf  Coast  —  On 
the  Etowah  River — At  the  Falls  of  Little  River — At  Macon  — 
Ancient  works  in  the  Ohio  Valley  —  At  Newark  —  At  Marietta 
—  Great  mound  at  Grave  Creek — Near  Miamisburg — Grottoes 
occupied  by  Mound-builders  —  Walled  fort  in  Illinois —  Mounds 
on  the  Wabash  —  At  Vincennes  —  At  Merom  —  On  the  Kanka¬ 
kee — Ancient  works  in  Northern  Ohio  and  Western  New  York — 

In  New  Mexico  —  On  the  Atlantic  Coast  —  Burial  cases  used  in 
North  Carolina  —  Ancient  works  on  Pacific  Coast — In  the 
Montanic  Region  —  Colorado  — y  pper  Missouri  — Garden-beds.  97 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SHELL -BANKS - THEIR  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION. 

T  ARINE  accumulations — Gnathodon  beds  on  the  Gulf  Coast 
^  — On  the  Teche  —  On  the  Alabama  River  —  Shell-heaps  of 
Florida  —  On  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  —  In  Nova  Scotia  — 
In  Maine  —  In  Massachusetts — -On  the  Pacific  Coast — Fresh- 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


water  shell-heaps  —  In  the  American  Bottom  of  Illinois  —  At 
New  Harmony  and  other  points  in  Indiana — In  Tennessee  — 

On  the  banks  of  the  Yazoo,  Mississippi — In  Florida — Their 
antiquity  —  Character  of  the  crania  found  in  this  association...  156 


C  II  A  P  T  E  R  V  . 

MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 

''HEIR  situation  in  reference  to  topographical  features  —  Classi¬ 
fication  of  mounds  and  enclosures — For  defence  —  Altar  or 
sacrificial  mounds  —  Their  structure —  Human  sacrifices  prob¬ 
ably  offered  up  —  False  inferences  drawn  from  their  stratifica¬ 
tion  —  The  British  barrows  often  stratified —  Temple  mounds  — 

The  truncated  pyramidal  form  predominant  —  No  analogy 
between  them  and  the  Egyptian  pyramids  — The  teocallis  of 
Mexico —  Sepulchral  mounds — Mode  of  burial — Position  of 
the  corpse  —  Both  cremation  and  inhumation  practised  —  Ex¬ 
ploration  of  the  Grave  Creek  mound — Scythian  customs  similar 
to  those  of  the  Mound-builders  —  Exploration  of  a  mound  at 
Vincennes  —  Of  the  great  mound  at  St.  Louis  —  Of  Lick  Creek 
mound,  Tenn. —  Universality  of  mounds  among  primitive  nations 
—  Urn  burial  —  Cave  burial  —  Mounds  of  observation  _  171 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS - THEIR  ARTS  AND  MANUFACTURES. 


OTRIKING  similarity  in  implements  of  barbarous  races  —  Of 
little  value  in  tracing  ethnic  affinities  —  Flint  and  greenstone 
well  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  crude  implements  —  Arrow¬ 
heads,  how  made —  Their  classification — Rimmers  and  borers 
—  Agricultural  implements  —  Celts  —  Axes  —  Fleshers  — 
Scrapers  —  Pipes  —  Tobacco,  indigenous  —  Pestles  —  Bark- 
peelers  —  Discoidal  stones  —  Their  uses  —  The  game  of 
"Chungke” — Textile  fabrics,  regularly  spun  and  woven  — 
Gaugers  — Weights —  Shuttles —  Spindle-whorls —  Shell-work — 
Beads  —  Pottery  — Water-jugs  —  Statuettes — Vases  —  Drinking 
cups  —  Pipes  —  Sepulchral  urns  —  Kettles  —  Colored  pottery  — 
Copper  implements  —  Chisels  —  Axes  —  Daggers  —  Spear  and 
arrow  -  heads  —  Knives  —  Awls  —  Bracelets  —  Implements 
show'ing  marks  of  moulds _ ■ _  203 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


ANCIENT  MINING  BY  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS. 


EOLOGICAL  structure  of  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior, 
with  its  associated  veins  of  native  copper  —  The  Jesuits  unac¬ 
quainted  with  the  true  source  of  the  copper  boulders— The 
Indians  also  ignorant,  holding  them  in  superstitious  reverence 

—  The  region  resorted  to  by  a  Pre-historic  race  —  Character  of 
their  mining — Its  antiquity  —  Implements  employed  —  The 
wide  distribution  of  copper  in  the  mounds  —  Mica  extensively 
mined  —  The  ancient  mines  in  the  mountain  region  of  North 
Carolina  —  Galena  mined,  but  seldom  reduced  —  Specular  ores 
of  Missouri  employed  as  a  stone — Ribbon-marked  slate  mined 

—  Greenstone  and  porphyry  everywhere  abundant  —  Chert 
extensively  used  in  arrow-heads  —  Seats  of  their  manufacture  • — 
Eras  of  human  progress  —  Position  of  the  Mound-builders  in 

the  scale  of  humanity _ _ _  261 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND-BUILDERS. 


T])ERMANENCE  of  type  in  crania — Those  of  the  Mound-builders 
unique  —  Skulls  from  the  region  of  Chicago  —  Figures — Low 
type  —  Skulls  from  the  region  of  Merom,  la.  —  Low  type  main¬ 
tained —  “  Ossa  Wormensia”  —  Skull  from  Kankakee  Valley  — 
Skulls  from  the  region  of  Dubuque  —  Previous  descriptions  of 
Mound-builders’  skulls — Classification  of  skulls — Flatheads  — 
Distinctive  characters  of  Mound-builders’ skulls  —  Their  mental 
traits  contrasted  with  .those  of  the  Indian  —  As  to  the  former 
existence  of  an  autochthonous  race  —  Preponderance  of  the 
brain-case  the  mark  of  mental  activity  —  Artificial  compression, 
how  far  practised  —  The  Peruvian  skull — ^  Contours  of  the  most 
anomalous  skulls — Cranial  measurements  —  Note:  Mound- 
builders’  crania  from  Kentucky  —  Flattened  tibia;  characteristic 
of  the  inferior  races  -  275 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  AS  THE  BASIS  OF  ETHNIC  RELATIONS. 


CIMILARITY  of  manners  and  customs  an  uncertain  guide  in 
tracing  ethnic  relations —  Manners  and  customs  of  the  Mound- 
builders,  how  far  identical  with  those  of  other  nations  —  Sacred 
observances —  Sun-worship  —  Probably  practised  by  the  Mound- 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


builders  —  Burial  ceremonies  —  Consecrated  offerings  traced 
back  to  the  highest  antiquity —  Human  sacrifices  probably  made 
by  the  Mound-builders  —  Its  prevalence  among  other  races  — 
Scalping  the  dead  not  peculiar  to  the  Indian  — Flint  and  stone 
implements,  their  similarity  in  form  the  world  over  —  Language 

—  That  of  the  Indians  distinct,  and  of  a  primitive  character  — 
Picture-writing  of  the  Indians  and  Aztecs —  Hieroglyphics  used 
by  Central  Americans  —  American  language  shows  no  trace  of 
the  “  Lost  Tribes”  —  The  form  of  the  crania  an  authentic  guide 

—  Morton’s  views  as  to  the  separate  and  peculiar  character  of 
the  Indian  type  —  Controverted  by  Retzius — Both  types,  Doli- 
cocephali  and  Brachycephali,  found  —  The  artificial  deforma¬ 
tion  of  skull  not  peculiar  to  the  people  of  this  country  —  Civil¬ 
ization,  manifested  in  the  higher  forms  of  art,  a  valuable  guide 

—  The  ancient  civilizations  of  this  Continent  distinct  from  those 
of  the  Old  World  —  The  outgrowth  of  a  people  domesticated  to 
the  soil — Iron,  its  use  once  known  always  retained  —  Known 
in  the  Old  World  before  the  Historic  Period  —  Unknown  to  the 
Pre-historic  peoples  of  this  Continent — No  domesticated  animals 

—  No  domesticated  cereals,  except  maize  —  Stability  of  manners 

among  an  isolated  people  —  Effects  of  culture  in  modifying  the 
physiognomy  —  The  great  problem  of  the  first  origin  of  man 
incapable  of  solution _ _  310 


CHAPTER  X. 

WHO  WERE  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  ? 

HEIR  origin  to  be  sought  in  the  tropics,  rather  than  in  a  migra¬ 
tion  from  the  Old  World  —  Identity  in  their  crania  with  those 
of  the  ancient  races  of  Brazil  and  Central  America  —  The  early 
civilizations  of  both  hemispheres  probably  originated  in  the 
tropics  —  Are  due  to  the  prodigality  of  nature — Historical 
evidence — The  Aztecs,  their  origin  —  Not  an  indigenous  race 

—  Their  proficiency  in  astronomy  —  Ancient  Mexican  records 

—  The  Toltecs,  or  Nahuas,  identical  with  the  Mound-buijders 
— The  empire  of  Huehue  Tlapalan — The  migration  of  the  people 
southward — The  date  of  this  migration — They  attain  supreme 
power — Colhuan  civilization — The  people  of  Central  America, 
found  in  possession  of  the  country  at  time  of  the  Spanish  Con¬ 
quest,  a  part  of  the  dismembered  Toltecan  empire  —  Tyranny 
of  the  Governing  power — That  power  based  on  slavery — The 
ancient  civilizations  of  the  Old  World  indicate  a  similar  con- 


CONTENTS. 


XU 


dition  of  society  —  The  Mound-builders'  Empire  undoubtedly 
based  on  slavery  —  An  efficient  government,  the  subjugation  of 
the  masses,  and  cheap  food,  presupposed  to  account  for  the 
magnitude  of  their  structures —  Maize  the  national  food  —  EvU 
dences  of  methodical  agriculture  —  Shiftless  habits  of  the  Indian 
—  Their  democratic  form  of  government  —  Character  of  the 
people  who  erected  the  mounds — Ethnology  of  the  Mound- 
builders —  Summary  of  their  predominant  traits -  338 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE  UNITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE. 


.MPERFECTION  of  the  received  chronological  record  —  The 
remote  antiquity  of  man  as  indicated  by  geology  —  Permanence 
of  types  —  Views  of  Dr.  Prichard  —  Of  Dr.  Thompson  on 
Egyptian  antiquities  —  Of  Mr.  Smith  on  Assyrian  monuments 

—  Of  the  author  of  “Genesis  of  Earth  and  Man”  —  Of  Sir 
Charles  Lyell  —  Of  Mr.  Darwin,  as  to  the  value  of  specific  char¬ 
acters  applied  to  the  races  of  man  —  Arguments  for  and  against 
the  unity  of  the  race —  Points  of  resemblance  in  body  and  mind 

—  Primitive  condition  of  man  —  Slight  influence  of  the  direct 

action  of  the  conditions  of  life  —  Sexual  selection  the  all- 
important  agency  —  Humboldt  on  the  unity  of  the  race —  His 
protest  against  the  assumption  of  superior  and  inferior  races _ 353 

CHAPTER  XII. 

CHRONOMETRIC  MEASUREMENTS  AS  APPLIED  TO  THE 
ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 

an  inconsiderable  part  in  the  career 


Mound-builders  —  Inferences  drawn 


from  the  condition  of  the  skeletons  —  From  the  character  of 
the  arborescent  vegetation  covering  the  mounds — Unreliability 
of  Indian  traditions  —  Age  of  the  gorge  of  the  Niagara  River  — 
Man's  existence  under  greatly  changed  conditions  of  climate  — 

Due  probably  to  astronomical  causes  —  The  excentricity  of  the 
earth’s  orbit  —  Periods  of  glaciation  in  remote  times  —  Con¬ 
clusion  _ _ _  368 


Appendix 
Index _ 


387 

401 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAon. 

1.  Ancient  works  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  from  a  sketch  by  Charles  Sul¬ 
livan,  prefixed  to  “  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Val¬ 
ley.”  (  Frontispiece.) 

2.  Plummet  iiwm  the  Modified  Drift  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley, 

California- - - -  -  55 

3.  Hatchet  ?  from  the  Modified  Drift,  Jersey  County,  Illinois _  67 

4.  Elephas  primigenitis  and  Mastodon  giganteus,  restored _  82 

5.  Animal  mounds  in  Wisconsin _ _ _  gg 

6.  “  “  “  _ _ _ loi 

7.  Plan  of  ancient  works  at  Aztalan,  Wisconsin,  from  a  survey  by 

Dr.  I.  A.  Lapham,  “Antiquities  of  Wisconsin” _  102 

8.  Plan  of  ancient  works  in  Madison  Parish,  Louisiana,  from  a 

survey  by  James  Hough,  “Ancient  Monuments,”  etc.- . .  I20 

g.  Plan  of  ancient  works  near  Newark,  Ohio,  from  a  survey  by 
Col.  Charles  Whittlesey,  “  Ancient  Monuments,”  etc. _  125 

10.  Plan  of  Fort  Azatlan,  Indiana,  by  J.  H.  Emerton,  "  bulletin 

of  Essex  Institute  ” _ _ _ _ _  134 

100.  Plan  of  ancient  works  at  Hutsonville,  Illinois,  from  a  plan  by 

J.  H.  Emerton,  “  Boston  Natural  History  Society” _ _ _  I3g 

11.  Gnathodon  cuneatus,  illustrative  of  the  shell-heaps  on  the  Gulf 

Coast . . . . . . . .  156 

12.  Plan  of  an  altar  or  sacrificial  mound . - _ _  I7g 

13.  Section  of  a  sacrificial  mound  in  the  Scioto  Valley,  “  Ancient 

Monuments,"  etc. _ _ _  180 

14.  View  of  Grave  Creek  Mound,  West  Virginia,  “  Ancient  Monu¬ 
ments,”  etc. . . - . . .  igo 

15.  Different  forms  of  arrow-heads . . - .  205 

16.  “  “  “  _ _  206 

17.  Rimmer  or  borer . . . - .  207 

18.  Spades  for  cultivating  the  soil,  from  near  Alton,  Illinois _ 20q 

xiii 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTKATIONS. 

19.  Axes  or  hatchets,  creased _ 

20.  “  “  not  creased _  212 

21.  Double-edged  axe,  from  Wisconsin _ _  213 

22.  Fleshers _  _  215 

23.  Scrapers -  216 

24.  Porphyry  pipe,  polished,  from  a  mound  at  Laporte,  Indiana _ 217 

25.  Pestles  for  pulverising  maize _ 218 

26.  Discoidal  stone _ _  _ 222 

27.  Sculptured  stone,  ornamental _  222 

28.  Implement,  use  unknown _  222 

29.  Textile  fabrics _  _  _ 225 

30.  Gauges  ?  employed  in  spinning _  229 

31.  Weights?  for  keeping  taut  the  thread _  230 

32.  Shuttle  ?  used  in  weaving _  233 

33.  Button?  for  spindle-whorl _  _  234 

34.  Plemispherical  implement.  Use  unknown -  234 

35.  Busycoti  perversum,  used  in  shell-work _  234 

36.  Discs  from  the  same _ _  235 

37.  Marginella  apicina,  used  as  bead.. _  _  _ 235 

38.  Water-jugs,  from  Missouri _ _ _ _  237 

39.  Water-jug,  front  and  profile  views,  from  a  mound  in  Missouri  239 

40.  Statuette,  profile  and  back  view,  from  a  mound  in  Missouri _ 241 

41.  Water-jug,  from  an  ancient  cemetery  on  the  Wabash  River,  Ind.  243 

42.  Water-jug,  from  Belmont,  Missouri _  244 

43.  Ancient  vessel,  from  San  Jose,  Mexico _  244 

44.  '  Chevron  markings  of  the  Bronze  Age  of  Switzerland _  245 

45.  Drinking  cup,  from  Perry  County,  Missouri _  246 

46.  Pipe,  female  head  and  body,  from  a  mound  at  Laporte,  Indiana,  246 

47.  Sepulchral  urn,  from  Laporte,  Indiana _  247 

48.  Two  urns  from  the  same  locality _  247 

49.  Vessel  of  pottery,  from  near  the  mouth  of  Big  Sandy  River,  Ky.  248 

50.  Ancient  pottery,  from  Merom,  Indiana _ _  250 

“  “  “  New  Mexico _  250 

51.  “  “  “  Aztalan,  Wisconsin _  251 

52.  Copper  implements  —  chisels,  axes  and  daggers . . . 253 

53.  “  “  of  warfare  and  the  chase _  255 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


XV 


PAGB. 

54.  Copper  implements  —  knives,  awls  and  bracelets _ _  256 

55.  “  “  showing  marks  of  moulds _  258 

56.  Stone  mauls,  from  Lake  Superior _  267 

57.  Skull,  from  Slimpson’s  mound,  near  Chicago _  277 

58.  Frontal  bone,  from  Kennicott’s  mound,  near  Chicago _  280 

59.  Child’s  skull,  from  Haas’s  Park,  near  Chicago _  281 

60.  Skull,  from  Merom,  Indiana _  282 

61.  “  “  “  “  283 

62.  “  "  •’  “  284 

63.  “  “  “  “  285 

64.  Posterior  view,  showing  “  Ossa  Wormensia” _ _ _ 286 

65.  Skull,  from  Dunleith,  Illinois _ _ _  289 

66.  “  “  Tennessee _ _ 291 

67.  “  “  the  Upper  Mississippi _ _ 292 

68.  Vertical  view  of  skull,  from  Merom,  Indiana . .  293 

69-  “  "  “  “  "  “  - . . 293 

70.  “  “  '■  •'  •'  “  . . 294 

71.  Skull  of  a  Flathead _ _  295 

72.  Comparative  scale  of  skulls _  305 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  ANTIQUITY  OP  MAN  —  EVIDENCES  IN  EUROPE. 

The  combined  investigations  of  geologists  and 
ethnologists,  prosecuted  during  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century,  have  thrown  much  light  upon  the  origin  of 
the  human  race,  and  developed  facts  which  require  us 
to  essentially  modify  our  pre-existing  views  as  to  the 
length  of  time  during  which  it  has  occupied  our 
planet.  That  man  lived  at  a  time  far  too  remote  to  be 
embraced  in  our  received  system  of  chronology,  sur¬ 
rounded  by  great  quadrupeds  Avhich  have  ceased  to 
exist,  and  under  a  climate  very  different  from  what 
now  prevails,  has  been  so  clearly  demonstrated  that 
the  fact  must  now  be  accepted  as  a  scientific  truth. 

Revelations  so  startling,  have  been  received  with 
disquietude  and  distrust  by  those  Avho  adhere  to  the 
chronology  of  Usher  and  Petavius,  which  would  bring 
the  various  migrations  of  men,  the  confusion  of  tongues, 
the  peopling  of  continents,  the  development  of  types, 
and  everything  relating  to  human  history,  within  the 
short  compass  of  little  more  than  four  thousand  years. 

Those  great  physical  revolutions  in  the  face  of  Europe, 
such  as  the  contraction  of  the  glaciers  within  narrow 
limits,  the  gradual  change  of  the  Baltic  from  salt  to 
brackish  water,  the  submergence  and  subsequent  ele¬ 
vation  of  a  larger  portion  of  Southern  Russia  and 
B  17 


18 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


Northern  Germany,  the  conversion  of  a  portion  of  the 
bed  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  into  the  desert  of  Sahara, 
the  severance  of  France  from  England,  Europe  from 
Africa,  and  Asia  from  Europe,  by  the  straits  of  Dover, 
Gibraltar,  and  the  Dardanelles,  and  the  dying  out  of 
the  volcanic  fires  of  Auvergne  —  all  these  great  physi¬ 
cal  changes  which  geologists,  by  universal  consent, 
admitted  were  infinitely  older  than  any  authentic 
history  or  tradition,  must  now  be  comprehended  in  the 
Human  Epoch. 

“Ethnology,”  remarks  Sir  John  Lubbock,  “in  fact, 
is  passing  through  a  phase  from  which  other  sciences 
have  safely  emerged,  and  the  new  views  in  reference 
to  the  Antiquity  of  Man,  though  still  looked  upon  with 
distrust  and  apprehension,  will,  I  doubt  not,  in  a  few 
years,  be  regarded  with  as  little  disquietude  as  are  now 
those  discoveries  in  astronomy  and  geology,  which  at 
one  time  excited  even  greater  opposition.”* 

A  brief  glance  at  the  progress  of  scientific  inquiry 
will  show  how  vastly  our  views  of  the  grandeur  of  the 
universe  have  been  enlarged  by  casting  aside  the  dogmas 
of  former  ages.  The  battle-field  on  which  Science  and 
Popular  Belief  were  the  contending  hosts,  has  been 
repeatedly  fought  over,  in  which  the  former  has  always 
come  off  victorious ;  not  as  against  Christianity,  but 
against  the  narrow  and  bigoted  views  of  the  times.  In 
the  fourth  century,  to  believe  in  the  Antipodes  was 
deemed  heretical.  In  1430,  Copernicus  completed  his 
immortal  work  on  the  Revolution  of  the  Heavenly  Bodies, 
and  for  thirteen  years  retained  it  in  his  possession  ;  and 
when  he  put  it  forth,  as  a  safeguard  against  oppression, 
he  propounded  his  theory  in  the  form  of  an  hypothesis. 
It  was  permitted  to  slumber  for  nearly  eighty  years,  and 

*  Sir  John  Lubbock,  “  Pre-historic  Times,”  preface. 


POPULAR  DOGIVIAS. 


19 


when  Galileo  revived  it  in  explanation  of  the  phases 
of  Venus,  the  Italian  astronomer  was  silenced. 

Fifty  years  ago,  no  popular  belief  was  more  fixed 
than  that  the  work  of  creation  was  accomj)lished  in 
six  days,  each  occupying  a  period  of  twenty -four  hours. 
Geologists,  in  investigating  the  structure  of  the  earth, 
saw  that,  to  account  for  all  the  mutations  which  it  had 
undergone,  required  the  lapse  of  an  indefinite  period 
of  time,  stretching  back  so  far  remote  as  to  defy 
computation.  To  this  requirement,  every  intelligent 
investigator  at  this  day  assents. 

Geologists  now  find  that  the  Antiquity  of  Man  far 
antedates  the  era  assigned  to  his  creation  by  the 
received  system  of  chronology,  and  submit  the  evi¬ 
dences  of  their  belief  to  an  enlightened  public  senti¬ 
ment. 

Thus,  within  the  present  generation,  has  been  opened 
a  sphere  of  investigation  which  has  enlisted  an  able 
body  of  observers,  whose  labors  have  thrown  a  flood  of 
light  upon  the  questions  relating  to  our  common  human¬ 
ity.  Ethnography  has  been  raised  to  the  rank  of  the 
noblest  of  sciences.  However  strange  these  new  views 
with  regard  to  the  origin  and  history  of  our  race  may 
appear,  they  can  not  be  disregarded.  We  must  weigh 
the  value  of  observations,  and  press  them  to  their  legiti¬ 
mate  conclusions.  The  investigator  at  this  day  must 
not  be  trammeled,  in  the  language  of  Humboldt,  by 
“  an  assemblage  of  dogmas  bequeathed  from  one  age 
to  another,”  —  “  by  a  physical  philosophy  made  up  of 
popular  errors.” 

A  summary  of  the  facts  on  which  the  Antiquity  of 
Man  is  based  will  form  an  appropriate  introduction  to 
this  work  ;  for  if  the  geologist  demands  time  to  account 
for  the  formation  of  the  successive  deposits  in  which 


20 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OE  MAN. 


the  vestiges  of  the  human  race  are  preserved,  the  eth¬ 
nologist  is  equally  imperative  in  his  demand  for  time 
to  enable  him  to  account  for  the  migrations  of  men, 
their  physical  peculiarities  as  manifested  in  types,  and 
the  diversities  in  their  written  and  spoken  languages, 
in  their  civilizations,  and  in  their  manners  and  customs. 
The  historical  period  of  4,000  years,  they  claim,  is 
inadequate  to  explain  these  diversities. 

M.  Lartet,  whose  discoveries  in  ethnography  have 
placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of  observers,  divides  the 
period  of  the  Pre-historic  Man  into  two  ages,  and  sub¬ 
divides  the  first  age  into  three  epochs,  and  the  second 
into  two. 


Epochs. 


I. 

I.  STONE  AGE.  <  2. 


3- 

V 


That  of  the  extinct  animals,  such  as  the 
mammoth  and  cave-bear. 

That  of  the  migrated  existing  animals  (Rein¬ 
deer  Epoch). 

That  of  the  domesticated  existing  animals 
(Polished  stone  Epoch). 


II.  METAL  AGE. 


1.  That  of  Bronze. 

2.  That  of  Iron. 


Sir  John  Lubbock  divides  Pre-historic  Archaeology 
into  four  periods. 


1.  “  That  of  the  Drift ;  when  man  shared  the  possession  of  Europe  with 

the  mammoth,  the  ca-ve-bear,  the  wooly-haired  rhinoceros,  and 
other  extinct  animals.”  This  he  calls  the  “  Palaeolithic  ”  period. 

2.  “  The  later  or  Polished  stone  Age  ;  a  period  characterized  by  beauti¬ 

ful  weapons  and  instruments  made  of  flint  and  other  kinds  of 
stone,  in  which,  however,  we  find  no  trace  of  the  knowledge  of 
any  metal,  excepting  gold,  which  seems  sometimes  to  have  been 
used  for  ornaments.”  This  he  calls  the  “  Neolithic”  period. 

3.  “  The  Bronze  Age  ;  in  which  bronze  was  used  for  arms  and  cutting 

instruments  of  all  kinds.” 


PKOGRESS  OF  DISCOVERY. 


21 


4.  “  The  Iron  Age  ;  in  which  that  metal  superseded  bronze  for  arms, 

axes,  knives,  etc.  ;  bronze,  however,  still  being  in  common  use  for 
ornaments,  and  frequently  also  for  the  handles  of  swords  and  other 
arms,  but  never  for  the  blades.”  * 

1.  Man  as  the  contemporary  of  the  extinct  animals^  such 
as  the  mammoth  and  cave-bear.  —  Up  to  a  recent  time,  it 
was  the  belief  of  geologists  that  the  remains  of  man 
were  restricted  to  the  most  superficial  deposits,  such  as 
are  now  accumulating  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and 
little  significance  was  attached  to  discoveries  which 
served  to  unsettle  this  belief.  As  early  as  1823,  M. 
Bou^,  an  accomplished  French  geologist,  found  human 
bones  in  the  undisturbed  Loess,  at  Lahr,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Rhine,  which  were  shown  to  Cuvier,  who,  while 
admitting  that  they  were  human,  insisted  that  they 
came  from  a  modern  burial-ground.  Thus  the  dictum 
of  the  great  comparative  anatomist  was  sufficient  to 
override  the  careful  observations  of  the  painstaking 
geologist. 

In  1828,  Christol  and  Tournal,  in  investigating  the 
cavern  of  Bize,  in  the  south  of  France,  observed  human 
bones  and  teeth  and  fragments  of  pottery,  intermixed 
with  the  bones  of  mammals  now  extinct,  the  whole 
cemented  by  stalagmite,  and  exhibiting  the  same  degree 
of  fossilization  ;  but  the  scientific  world  failed  to  recog¬ 
nize  the  just  value  of  these  observations. 

In  1833,  Schmerling  found  in  the  cave  deposits  of 
Li^ge,  human  bones  and  rude  implements  of  stone, 
commingled  with  the  remains  of  the  elephant,  rliinoce- 
ros,  etc. ;  and,  resisting  the  full  force  of  the  evidence 
before  his  eyes,  he  suggested  that  the  bones  of  the 
extinct  species  might  have  been  washed  out  of  the 
older  alluvium  which  exists  in  the  vicinity. 


*  “  Pre-historic  Times,”  p.  3. 


22 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OE  MAN. 


In  1841,  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  a  resident  of  Abbe¬ 
ville,  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  France,  observed  flint 
implements,  evidently  the  work  of  man,  in  the  terrace- 
gravel  which  was  there  dug  out  to  repair  the  roads  and 
fortifications  of  the  city,  and  after  having  collected 
quite  a  number,  in  connection  with  the  bones  of  the 
elephant,  rhinoceros,  bear,  hyena,  stag,  ox,  horse,  and 
other  animals,  in  1847  he  published  the  results  in  a 
work  called  “  Antiquites  Celtiques,”  but  the  scientific 
world  had  no  faith  in  the  discoveries.  Dr.  Rigolet, 
however,  who  lived  at  Amiens,  forty  miles  further 
inland,  and  who  had  written  a  memoir  on  the  Fossil 
Mammalia  of  the  valley,  was  induced  to  inspect  de 
Perthes’  collection,  and  on  returning  home  resolved  to 
look  for  similar  implements,  and  he  soon  found  several 
to  reward  his  exertions.  These  discoveries  he  com¬ 
municated  to  the  scientific  world.  Dr.  Falconer,  an 
eminent  English  geologist,  having  stopped  at  Abbeville 
and  inspected  de  Perthes’  collection,  became  satisfied 
that  the  implements  were  the  work  of  man,  and  accord¬ 
ingly  wrote  to  Messrs.  Prestwich  and  Evans,  of  England, 
to  go  to  the  valley  and  examine  the  deposits.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  that  they  confirmed  the  results  of  M.  Boucher 
de  Perthes’  observations. 

The  Valley  of  the  Somme,  which  has  now  become  to 
the  archaeologist  classical  ground,  is  about  a  mile  wide 
between  Abbeville  and  Amiens,  and  is  excavated  in  the 
Chalk  formation  with  its  accompanying  flints.  The 
strata  repose  nearly  horizontally.  The  bluffs  which 
bound  the  valley  are  often  two  and  three  hundred  feet 
in  height,  and  these  surmounted,  the  country  stretches 
out  into  a  nearly  level  plateau,  which  is  covered  with  a 
layer  of  brick  earth  about  five  feet  thick,  and  is  desti¬ 
tute  of  fossils.  Occasionally  patches  of  sand  and  clay 


VALLEY  OF  THE  SOIMME. 


23 


with  Eocene  fossils  are  observed,  and  the  probability  is 
that  tliis  formation  once  stretched  continuously  over 
the  chalk,  but  has  been  broken  up  and  removed  by 
denudation,  and  these  materials  contributed  largely  to 
form  those  beds  of  gravel  in  which  the  flint  implements 
and  the  mammalian  remains  are  entombed.  Descending 
into  the  valley,  we  liave,  according  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell, 
who  has  carefully  investigated  its  structure,  and  whose 
results  I  shall  state  in  a  condensed  form,*  the  following 

Section  across  the  Valley  of  the  Somme. 

1.  Peat  twenty  to  thirty  feet  thick,  resting  on  gravel  deposited  on  the 

chalk.  (Newest  deposit.) 

2.  Lower  level  gravel,  forming  the  first  bench,  with  elephants’  bones 

and  flint  too)s,  covered  with  fluviatile  loam,  twenty  to  forty  feet 
thick. 

3.  Upper  level  gravel,  forming  the  second  bench,  with  similar  fossils, 

and  with  overlying  loam,  in  all  thirty  feet  thick. 

4.  Upland  loam,  without  shells,  five  or  six  feet  thick,  spread  over  the 

plateau,  as  before  described. 

5.  Eocene  tertiary  strata,  resting  on  the  ch.alk  strat.a  in  patches. 

The  peat,  as  before  stated,  is  the  most  recent  of  all 
these  deposits,  and  occupies  the  lower  parts  of  the 
valley  all  the  way  from  the  sea  to  far  above  Amiens, 
including  Abbeville,  and  in  places  is  thirty  feet  thick. 
All  of  the  imbedded  mammalia,  as  well  as  the  shells, 
are  the  same  species  as  those  now  inhabiting  Europe. 
At  some  depth  in  this  formation,  near  Abbeville,  are 
seen  trunks  of  alders  standing  erect  as  they  grew,  with 
their  roots  fixed  in  the  ancient  soil.  Stems  of  the  hazel, 
and  nuts  of  the  same,  and  trunks  of  the  oak  and  walnut 
abound.  Traced  to  the  sea-coast,  the  peat  is  seen  pass¬ 
ing  under  the  sand-dunes  and  below  the  water-level. 

*  “  Antiquity  of  Man,”  ch.  vii,  et  seq. 


24 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


This  would  indicate  that  there  had  been  a  submergence 
of  the  land ;  of  what  was  once  a  continuance  of  the 
valley  into  what  is  now  a  part  of  the  British  Channel. 
The  workmen  who  cut  this  peat,  declare  that  none  of  the 
hollows  during  their  lives  have  ever  been  refilled,  and 
therefore  that  peat  does  not  grow ;  but  this  is  a  mistake, 
the  increment  in  one  generation  not  being  appreciable 
by  the  ordinary  observer.  Near  the  surface  of  this 
deposit  occur  Gallo-Roman  remains,  and  still  deeper, 
Celtic  weapons  of  the  Stone  Period,  but  this  is  no  sure 
test  of  age,  for  in  a  semi-fluid  mass,  heavy  weapons 
would  sink  down  by  their  own  gravity.  In  one  case, 
however,  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  observed  several  large 
dishes  of  Roman  pottery,  lying  in  a  horizontal  position, 
the  shape  of  which  must  have  prevented  them  from 
sinking  through  the  underlying  peat.  Allowing  about 
fourteen  centuries  for  the  growth  of  the  superincum¬ 
bent  vegetable  matter,  he  calculated  that  the  thickness 
gained  in  a  hundred  years  would  be  no  more  than  three 
French  centimetres,  say  about  three  English  inches. 
“  This  rate  of  increase,”  observes  Sir  Charles,  “  would 
demand  so  many  tens  of  thousands  of  years  for  the 
formation  of  the  entire  thickness  of  thirty  feet,  that  we 
must  hesitate  before  adopting  it  as  a  chronometric 
scale.” 

The  materials  making  up  the  deposit  designated  No. 
2  are  almost  devoid  of  stratification,  and  are  probably 
formed  of  the  mud  or  sediment  thrown  down  by  the 
waters  of  the  river  when  they  overflowed  the  ancient 
alluvial  plain  of  that  day.  Its  upper  surface  has  been 
deeply  furrowed  by  water,  at  the  time  when  the  earthy 
matter  of  No.  1  was  superimposed.  The  mammalia 
most  frequently  found  in  this  deposit,  as  well  as  No.  3, 
are  the  following :  Elephas  primigenius^  Rhinoceros 


PROGRESS  OF  DISCOVERY. 


25 


tichorhinus^  Equus  fossilis,  Bos  prhnigenius,  Cervus 
somonensis,  0.  tarandus  prisms,  Felis  speloea,  Hycena 
speloea. 

The  deposit  No.  3  is  made  up  of  a  succession  of  beds 
chiefly  of  a  fresh-water  origin,  but  occasionally  a  mix¬ 
ture  of  marine  and  fluviatile  shells  is  observed.  In  the 
lowest  beds  of  gravel  and  sand  in  contact  with  the 
chalk,  flint  hatchets,  some  perfect,  others  much  rolled, 
have  been  found.  Above  this  bed  occurs  a  white  sili- 
cious  sand,  in  which  are  found  the  remains  of  numerous 
fresh-water  shells  now  common  to  the  region,  exeept 
Cyrena  fluminalis,  which  has  disappeared  from  Europe, 
but  inhabits  the  Nile  and  many  parts  of  Asia. 

The  flint  implements  found  in  this  conneetion  exhibit 
rude  workmanship.  The  two  prevailing  forms  are  oval 
and  pear-shaped.  Their  edges  are  more  or  less  fractured 
or  worn,  either  by  use  as  instruments  before  they  were 
buried  in  the  gravel,  or  by  being  rolled  in  the  river’s 
bed.  Many  of  them  are  stained  ochreous-yellow,  while 
others  have  acquired  white  or  brown  tints,  according 
to  the  matx’ix  in  which  they  have  been  enclosed.  The 
surface  in  many  instances  is  encrusted  with  a  film  of 
carbonate  of  lime,  while  in  others  they  exhibit  those 
ramifying  markings  known  as  dendrites,  which  is  a  use¬ 
ful  test  of  their  antiquity.  The  most  general  test,  how¬ 
ever,  is  a  varnish-like  or  vitreous  gloss,  as  contrasted 
with  the  dull  aspect  of  freshly -fractured  fliuts. 

In  the  British  Museum  there  is  a  flint  implement 
deposited  as  far  back  as  1715,  with  the  statement  that 
it  was  found  “  near  Grayes  Inn  Lane,”  with  an  elephant's 
tooth,  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Conyers.  Tlius  it  is  evi¬ 
dent,  that  the  fact  that  man  was  the  contemporary  of 
the  extinct  animals,  was  known  a  century  and  a  half 
ago,  but  it  had  been  passed  over  by  geologists. 


26 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


In  1842,  Mr.  Godwin-Austen,  in  a  paper  communi¬ 
cated  to  the  Geological  Society  of  London,  stated  that 
he  had  observed  the  association  of  human  remains  with 
those  of  extinct  animals  at  Kent’s  Hole,  Devonshke, 
and  inferred  that  they  must  have  been  introduced  before 
the  stalagmite  floor  was  formed.  Another  communica¬ 
tion  to  the  same  effect,  from  another  observer,  Mr. 
Vivian,  was  denied  publication.  This  example  shows 
how  reluctantly  new  truths  are  received,  where  they 
conflict  with  our  preconceived  ideas. 

It  was,  however,  the  confirmation  of  the  correctness 
of  de  Perthes’  discoveries,  by  such  eminent  geologists 
and  palaeontologists  as  Lyell,  Falconer,  and  Prestwich, 
that  arrested  the  attention  of  observers  throughout 
Europe,  and  induced  them  to  re-examine  the  bone- 
caves  and  gravel-pits  of  their  respective  regions ;  and 
the  result  has  been,  that  the  association  of  human 
remains  with  those  of  extinct  animals  has  been  detected 
in  many  thousand  instances,  constituting  a  mass  of  evi¬ 
dence  which  can  be  no  longer  gainsayed.  So  great  was 
the  interest  excited  in  England  by  these  discoveries 
that,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London, 
Mr.  Pengelly,  with  a  supervisory  committee  of  men 
eminent  in  science,  was  deputed  to  explore  the  cave  of 
Brixham,  near  Torquay,  who  with  scrupulous  care 
records  the  exact  position  of  each  fossil  bone  or  flint 
implement  exhumed,  and  the  results  which  he  is 
developing,  must  convince  the  most  skeptical,  that  man 
existed  in  that  region  contemporary  with  the  large 
mammalia.  Among  these,  are  the  great  fossil  elephant 
(^Elephas  primigenius),^Q  rhinoceros  QR.  tiehorhinus'), 
the  horse,  the  bison,  the  reindeer  (^Oervus  tarandus), 
the  stag  (^Cervus  elaphus  and  O.  eapreolus),  the  great 
cave-bear  ( Ursus  spelceus')  and  two  other  species  ( U. 


GROTTOES  WITH  HUMAN  REMAINS. 


27 


ferox  and  U.  arctos},  the  cave-hyena  (^H.  spelcea),  and 
the  cave-lion  (^Felis  spelcea).  The  same  association  has 
been  observed  in  the  gravel-pits  of  Middlesex,  Surrey, 
Bedfordshire,  and  Sulfolk. 

On  the  continent,  the  progress  of  discovery  in  this 
branch  of  palaeontology  has  been  quite  as  rapid,  and 
the  results  have  been  still  more  wonderful,  Dupont, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  government,  has  carefully 
explored  the  Belgian  caves,  and  Lartet  and  Christy, 
and  others,  have  explored  those  of  France.  Among 
those  belonging  to  the  oldest  epoch,  may  be  enumerated 
the  grottoes  of  Moulin  Quignon,  Aurignac,  Vallieres, 
Arcy-sur-Yonne,  Moustier  (Perigord),  and  the  caves 
of  Fontaine,  Madelaine,  and  Pontil.  But  these  do  not 
exhaust  the  list.  The  cave  of  Gailenreuther,  in  Fran¬ 
conia,  that  of  Laglio,  on  Lake  Como,  and  the  grotto  of 
Macagnome,  in  Sicily,  have  revealed  abundant  reliquse 
of  man  in  connection  with  the  bones  of  extinct  animals. 
In  other  parts  of  the  earth,  in  Syria  and  Brazil,  the 
same  association  has  been  observed. 

These  caverns  may  be  classified  under  three  heads : 

1,  Those  which  have  served  for  human  habitations ; 

2,  Those  which  have  served  as  tombs  for  the  reception 
of  the  corpses  of  the  departed;  and,  3,  Those  which 
have  been  occupied  as  lairs  by  the  wild  beasts.  In  the 
first  class,  even  in  the  absence  of  human  remains,  the 
former  presence  of  man  is  indicated  by  the  mammalian 
bones  being  cleft  lengthwise  to  extract  the  marrow. 
In  the  second  class,  the  passage  is  narrow,  and  the 
entrance  was  secured  by  a  flat  stone  to  protect  the 
manes  from  wild  beasts.  In  the  third  class,  the  bones 
are  gnawed  and  never  split  lengthwise,  thus  showing 
that  they  were  dragged  thither  by  the  carnivorous 
animals.  In  many  of  the  caves  are  found  two  or  more 


28 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


strata,  belonging  to  different  epochs  and  separating  two 
distinct  faunse. 

The  exploration  of  the  cave  of  Aurignac,  by  Lartet, 
afforded  the  most  interesting  results.  When  first  dis¬ 
covered,  in  1852,  the  narrow  entrance  was  found  to 
be  barred  by  a  flat  stone.  This  being  removed,  there 
were  disclosed  seventeen  human  skeletons,  which  the 
mayor,  in  the  discharge,  as  he  supposed,  of  a  conscien¬ 
tious  duty,  had  caused  to  be  removed  and  buried  in  the 
church-yard ;  and  so  faitlffully  was  this  order  executed, 
that  Avhen  M.  Lartet,  eight  years  after,  visited  the  town, 
no  one  could  point  out  the  spot.  He,  however,  insti¬ 
tuted  further  researches.  He  removed  the  rubbish 
which  for  ages  had  been  accumulating  from  the  summit 
of  the  hill,  so  as  to  expose  the  original  surface.  Here 
he  found  the  remains  of  an  ancient  hearth,  as  well  as 
the  bones  of  many  different  animals.  On  the  floor  of 
the  grotto  were  found,  without  being  broken  or  gnawed, 
the  bones  of  the  cave-bear,  the  aurochs,  the  horse,  and 
the  reindeer,  all  of  which  animals  were  eaten  by  the 
primeval  man,  together  with  implements  of  flint  and 
bone,  and  discs  made  from  marine  shells.  Outside  the 
tomb,  the  bones  had  all  been  fractured  to  extract  the 
marrow,  and  they  bore  traces  of  the  flint  knives  which 
were  used  in  detaching  the  flesh.  It  was  evident,  too, 
that  after  the  human  feast,  the  hyenas  resorted  there 
to  gather  whatever  was  left  in  the  way  of  offal,  for  the 
bones  showed  the  marks  of  their  fangs,  and  their  excre¬ 
ments  were  distinguishable  in  the  ashes.  The  number 
of  distinct  animals  here  found  is  wonderful,  compris¬ 
ing  not  less  than  nineteen  speeies. 

Cave-bear  f  Ursus  spelaus),  Polecat  f  Putorius  vulgaris). 

Brown  bear  f  U.  arctos  ? ),  Cave-lion  f  Pelts  spelaa). 

Badger  ( Meles  taxus).  Wild  cat  f F.  eatusj, 


DRIFT  PERIOD. 


29 


Cave-hyena  ( Ilyana  spelaa), 
Wolf  ( Canis  lupus). 

Fox  ( C.  vulpes), 

Mammoth  ( Elephas primigenius). 
Rhinoceros  ( R.  tichorhinus), 
Horse  f  Equus  caballus). 

Ass?  (E.  asinusj, 


Boar  ( Sus  scrofa J, 

Stag  (  Cervus  elaphus ), 

Irish  elk  ( A/egaceros  hibemicus). 
Roebuck  ( C.  capreolus ), 
Reindeer  (  C.  tarandus ), 

Aurochs  ( Bison  etiropatis ). 


The  bones  of  the  carnivorous  animals  found  around 
the  hearth  were  entire,  thus  showing  that  they  were 
rejected  both  by  man  and  beast. 

M.  Lartet  gives  this  interpretation  to  the  facts  here 
presented :  The  burial-place  is  of  the  highest  antiquity, 
as  shown  by  the  many  extinct  species  of  animals  here 
collected.  The  stone  which  closed  the  entrance  to  the 
grotto  was  from  time  to  time  rolled  away  to  receive  a 
new  occupant,  while  the  friends,  as  indicated  by  the 
depth  of  the  layer  of  ashes  and  the  quantity  of  bones, 
held  a  funeral  feast  outside.  The  uninjured  bones 
within  the  grotto,  as  well  as  the  flint  implements  and 
shell  beads,  were  offerings  consecrated  to  the  dead. 
It  seems  strange,  in  the  nineteenth  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  to  have  thus  vividly  brought  before  us  a 
burial  scene  which  took  place  at  a  time  which  goes 
back  far  beyond  all  history  and  even  tradition.  Com¬ 
pared  with  this  sepulchral  vault,  the  pyramid  of  Cheops 
is  modern. 

The  climate  of  the  northern  hemisphere  just  preced¬ 
ing  the  Drift  Period,  Avas  far  milder  than  at  present. 
Fossil  acorns  and  fir  cones  are  found  in  the  interior  of 
Banks’s  Land,  far  within  the  Arctic  Circle.  In  Green¬ 
land  are  the  remains  of  large  forests  encased  in  ice. 
At  Disco’s  Island,  the  northern  verge  of  European 
settlement,  the  strata  are  full  of  the  leaves,  branches, 
and  trunks,  and  even  seeds  and  frnit  cones  of  trees, 
comprising  firs,  sequoias,  eTms,  magnolias  and  laurels, — 


30 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


a  vegetation  characteristic  of  the  Miocene  Period  of 
Central  Europe.  Spitzhergen  was  clothed  Avith  a  lux¬ 
uriant  forest,  and  the  lignite  beds  of  Iceland  yield  large 
arborescent  forms,  where  now  the  vegetation  is  dwarfed. 

The  Drift  Period,  which  was  one  of  long  continuance, 
was  ushered  in  by  a  marked  change  in  physical  influ¬ 
ences.  In  the  higher  regions  we  find  a  predominating 
growth  of  mosses  and  saxifrages,  where  formerly 
flourished  the  sequoia  and  magnolia.  The  northern 
region  even  as  low  as  the  temperate  zone,  was  encased 
in  ice.  The  rigor  of  the  climate  was  fatal  to  human 
life.  Whether  at  that  time  man  existed  in  the  warmer 
regions  of  Asia  and  Africa,  and  in  the  tropics  of  America, 
remains  to  be  discovered.  But  at  length  there  came  a 
change.  The  clhnate  was  mitigated.  The  casing  of 
ice  was  dissolved,  and  the  glaciers  reluctantly  retreated. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  man  made  his  appearance  in 
Europe  as  the  contemporary  of  the  hairy  elephant  and 
rhinoceros,  and  of  the  great  carnivorous  animals.  After 
the  lapse  of  time,  whose  interval  cannot  be  measured, 
there  ensued  another  period  of  refrigeration,  but  of 
shorter  duration.  The  glaciers  again  advanced,  a  flood 
succeeded,  which  covered  the  low  lands  and  the  caves, 
and  forced  the  cave-dwellers  to  withdraw  to  the  higher 
grounds.  In  Belgium,  the  water,  according  to  Dupont, 
rose  to  the  height  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The 
calcareous  mud  and  gravelly  clay  which  fill  many  of 
the  valleys  of  France  and  Belgium,  and  known  as  Loess, 
attest  the  retreat  of  this  flood.  The  “  bone  earth  ” 
which  forms  the  division,  in  many  of  the  caves,  between 
two  distinct  faunte,  is  also  referred  to  this  inundation. 
At  this  era  commenced 

2.  The  Reindeer  Epochs  or  that  of  the  migrated  existing 
animals. — While  the  reindepr  existed  during  the  pre- 


PRIMEVAL  MAN  —  HIS  CHARACTER. 


31 


ceding  epoch,  yet  from  the  great  abundance  of  his 
remains  in  the  caves  of  Dordogne,  Aude,  and  other 
parts  of  the  south  of  France,  M.  Lartet  inferred  that  he 
re-appeared  in  greatly  augmented  numbers.  The  ele¬ 
phant  still  survived.  There  were  also  the  aurochs 
(^Bison  europceus),  the  horse  (ancestor  of  the  present 
race),  the  wild  ox  (^Bos  primig emus'),  the  musk-ox  ((9. 
moschatus),  the  Irish  stag  (^Megaceros  hibernicus),  the  elk 
((7.  aloes),  and  the  roebuck  ((7.  damn),  together  with 
the  goat  and  chamois,  and  smaller  quadrupeds. 

Scanty  as  are  the  materials,  European  ethnologists 
have  not  hesitated  to  generalize  upon  the  condition  of 
the  pre-historic  man  during  these  two  epochs.  He  was 
a  barbarian,  and  low  in  intellectual  development ;  a 
small  brain,  a  retreating  forehead  and  projecting  jaws, 
with  great  superciliary  ridges,  the  result,  perhaps,  of 
the  wariness  which  he  was  compelled  to  exercise.  He 
was  short  in  stature,  but  robust  and  broad-shouldered, 
for  the  exposures  to  which  he  was  subjected  sifted  out 
the  weak  and  diseased.  He  was  a  raw-flesh  eater,  for 
in  many  of  the  jaws  which  have  been  disinterred,  the 
incisors  are  much  worn, — a  peculiarity  which  has  been 
observed  in  the  flesh-eating  Esquimaux.  This  fact 
ought  not  to  be  cited  to  his  disadvantage,  for  in  an 
Arctic  chmate,  where  the  heat  is  so  rapidly  extracted, 
the  system  requires  a  highly  nitrogenous  food.  Our 
own  countryman  Kane,  when  imprisoned  by  the  ice  in 
Rensselaer  Harbor,  bears  witness  that  nothing  was  so 
grateful  to  the  appetite  as  raw  walrus  meat.  He  was 
a  cannibal,  for,  in  Scotland,  Owen  found  upon  the  bones 
of  children,  the  marks  of  human  teeth,  and  the  same 
fact  was  brought  out  at  the  Copenhagen  Congress. 
The  conditions  of  climate  rendered  agriculture  im¬ 
practicable,  but  at  the  same  time  the  soil  sustained 


32 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OE  MAN. 


a  class  of  vegetation  adapted  to  the  support  of  the 
higher  orders  of  quadrupeds ;  hence  he  must  have  been 
a  hunter  and  fisherman.  In  his  physical  development 
and  habits,  the  result  of  his  conflict  with  circumstances, 
he  must  have  approached  the  Esquimaux  more  nearly 
than  any  other  of  the  existing  types.  These  Arctic  High¬ 
landers  are  thus  described  by  Sherard  Osborn. 

“  Although  dwarfed  in  stature,  they  are  thick-set, 
strong-limbed,  deep-chested,  and  bass-voiced,  and 
capable  of  vigorous  and  prolonged  exertion.  . 

I  cannot  discover  an  instance  of  their  ever  having  been 
seen  to  partake  of  a  single  herb,  grape  or  berry,  grown 
on  shore.  Of  vegetables  and  cereals,  they  have,  of 
course,  no  conception,  and  I  know  of  no  other  people 
on  the  earth’s  surface,  who  are  thus  entirely  carnivor¬ 
ous.”* 

Although  the  pre-historic  man  was  surrounded  by 
the  most  formidable  animals,  and  his  weapons  were  of 
the  rudest  character,  yet  it  must  not  be  inferred  that 
he  declined  to  encounter  them  in  a  personal  contest. 
The  bone-caves,  where  we  find  their  commingled 
remains,  attest  this  fact.  By  his  watchfulness  in  noting 
their  habits,  and  by  his  sagacity  in  constructing  traps 
and  pitfalls,  he  would  come  off  victor  in  nearly  every 
conflict.  Again  recurring  for  an  illustration  to  the 
Arctic  Highlander,  who  has  no  wood  except  the  frag¬ 
ments  of  a  wreck  which  a  favoring  gale  may  have  cast 
upon  the  shore,  and  hence  no  kaiyah  in  which  to  traverse 
the  water,  no  bow  and  arrows  with  which  to  kill  the 
musk-ox  or  reindeer,  with  his  spear  and  harpoon,  made 
of  bone  or  pointed  with  meteoric  iron  found  in  the 
country,  or  scraps  of  iron-hoops  which  reach  the  coast 

*“  Exploration  of  the  North  Polar  Region.”  Journal  Royal  Geo¬ 
graphical  Society,  vol.  xxiv,  p.  287. 


BURIAL  BITES. 


33 


upon  the  casks  of  wrecked  whalers,  he  slays  the  seal, 
the  bear,  and  walrus. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  man,  supplied  with  the 
rudest  weapons,  by  the  exercise  of  cunning,  approaches 
and  fearlessly  attacks  the  most  formidable  animals. 

They  clothed  themselves  in  the  skins  of  animals  cap¬ 
tured  in  the  chase,  and  in  this  respect,  too,  they  imitated 
the  habits  of  the  Esquimaux.  Bodkins  and  needles  for 
piercing  and  sewing  the  hides,  and  implements  for 
pressing  and  smoothing  the  seams,  have  been  found. 
The  reindeer,  which  evidently  must  have  existed  in 
vast  herds,  was,  to  the  primeval  man  of  Europe,  the 
most  useful  of  animals.  Every  portion  of  the  carcass 
was  economized.  His  flesh  furnished  food ;  his  skin, 
clothing ;  his  sinews,  thread  ;  the  metacarpal  bone  of 
the  fore-leg,  awls  and  needles  ;  and  his  antlers  were 
fashioned  into  harpoons,  dirks,  arrow  and  si)ear-heads. 

The  primeval  man  may  have  had  movable  tents,  con¬ 
structed  of  skins  and  poles,  for  summer  residences,  and 
during  the  winter  may,  like  the  Esquimaux,  have  bur¬ 
rowed  in  snow,  but  the  caves  and  grottoes  were  largely 
resorted  to  for  shelter,  and  also  employed  as  sepulchres 
for  the  departed.  He  did  not  regard  death  as  an  endless 
sleep,  as  shown  by  the  implements  and  ornaments  found 
in  these  sepulchres.  That  homage  which  in  all  ages, 
and  among  all  nations,  the  living  pay  to  the  dead  ;  those 
ceremonies  which  are  observed  at  the  hour  of  flnal 
separation ;  that  care  which  is  exercised  to  protect  the 
manes  from  all  profane  intrusion ;  and  those  delicate 
acts,  prompted  by  love  or  affection,  which,  we  fondly 
hope,  will  sootlie  the  passage  of  the  parting  spirit  to  the 
Happy  Land  —  all  these  observances  our  rude  ancestors 
maintained.  These  facts  show  that,  deep  as  man  may 
sink  in  barbarism,  brutal  as  he  may  be  in  his  instincts. 


34 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  IMAN. 


there  is  still  a  redeeming  spirit  which  prompts  to  higher 
aspirations,  and  that  to  him,  even,  there  is  no  belief  so 
dreary  as  that  of  utter  annihilation. 

The  men  of  the  Reindeer  Epoch  made  considerable 
advances  in  the  arts  over  those  of  the  preceding  epoch. 
Their  hatchets  are  more  symmetrically  wrought ;  their 
saws  are  dexterously  notched ;  their  needles  of  bone 
and  ivory  have  eyes  drilled  with  consummate  skill,  but 
there  is  found  no  metallic  instrument,  and  there  is  no 
evidence  of  an  attempt  to  grind  and  polish  their  stone 
implements. 

It  is  only  within  a  limited  area  in  the  south  of  France, 
that  the  succession  of  the  Reindeer  Epoch  is  clearly 
made  out.  From  the  caves  and  grottoes  have  been 
recovered  many  implements  which  show  that,  while 
the  fabricators  fitted  them  for  useful  purposes,  they  at 
the  same  time  bestowed  upon  them  a  degree  of  orna¬ 
mentation,  such  as  the  representation  of  animals  in 
motion,  which  is  artistically  far  above  caricature,  or  a 
school-boy  attempt  at  delineation.  The  substances 
employed  are  sometimes  slate,  at  others  plates  of  ivory 
from  the  tusks  of  the  fossil  elephant,  but  most  gener¬ 
ally,  the  antlers  of  the  reindeer.  There  are  staffs 
pierced  at  the  base  with  one  or  more  holes,  which  M. 
Lartet  regards  as  batons,  or  insignia  of  office.  There 
are  lance-points  elaborately  sculptured.  A  large  plate 
of  ivory,  found  at  Madelaine,  in  Dordogne,  contains  an 
engraving,  after  the  manner  of  etching,  of  the  fossil 
elephant  with  his  characteristic  markings ;  the  small 
oblique  eye,  the  ponderous  trunk,  the  recurved  tusks, 
the  shaggy  mane,  and  the  tufted  tail.  The  design 
clearly  shows  that  the  existing  species  were  not  in  the 
mind  of  the  artist,  and  how  could  he  have  become 
aware  of  these  peculiarities  in  the  now  extinct  species, 
except  that  he  was  then  living  ? 


ENGRAVING  BY  CAVE-MEN. 


35 


On  an  official  baton  of  reindeer’s  horn,  obtained 
from  Laugerie-Basse,  in  the  same  Department,  there  is 
an  elephant’s  head,  with  swelling  forehead,  large  ears, 
and  a  small  eye,  while  the  trunk  extends  along  the 
base  of  the  baton.  Another  reindeer  horn,  found  under 
the  shelter  of  a  rock  at  Bruniquel,  has  carved  upon  it 
an  entire  mammoth.  The  legs  are  straight,  massive, 
without  sensible  joints,  and  terminated  by  large  flat 
feet.  From  the  front  extends  the  haft  of  a  poinard ; 
and  if  the  stump  were  removed,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
animal  has  his  head  lowered,  and  the  trunk  extends 
down  between  the  forelegs. 

We  have,  also,  an  unfinished  carving  of  a  reindeer 
on  a  poniard  handle ;  a  sketchy  representation,  upon  a 
flat  surface  of  slate,  of  an  amorous  combat  between 
two  male  reindeer,  which  is  witnessed  with  apparent 
indifference  by  the  female  ;  a  spotted  fawn  accompanied 
by  its  dam,  carved  on  a  baton ;  a  cave-tiger,  perfectly 
rendered,  on  a  similar  implement ;  the  cave-bear,  traced 
with  rude  lines  on  a  pebble  ;  and  also,  the  stag,  aurochs, 
horse,  wild  goat,  and,  what  may  perhaps  be  regarded 
with  the  highest  interest,  man.  In  one  instance,  on  the 
fragment  of  an  official  staff,  is  engraved  a  small  human 
figure.  The  head  is  indicated  by  a  circular  line.  The 
haunches  and  thighs  are  lean,  while  the  abdomen  is 
prominent,  as  among  the  Australians.  The  figure  is 
placed  between  two  horses’  heads,  and  behind  is 
dangling  an  eel  or  serpent.  There  is,  also,  a  statuette 
in  ivory  of  a  female  figure,  which  the  Marquis  de 
Vibraye,  to  whom  we  owe  this  discovery,  regards  as  an 
obscene  idol.  Birds  such  as  the  goose,  fishes  like  the 
barbel,  reptiles  like  the  tadpole,  and  even  flowers,  l)ut 
sparingly  as  compared  with  the  animals,  are  represented. 

In  reference  to  this  collection  of  pre-historic  relics, 
M.  Mortillet  remarks : 


S6 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  HIAN. 


“  The  contemporaneity  of  man  and  the  various  extinct 
animals,  and  with  the  indigenous  reindeer  in  France,"  is 
broadly,  firmly,  incontestably  proven  by  the  discovery 
of  these  products  of  human  industry  and  skill,  so  abund¬ 
antly  mingled  with  the  exuviae  of  these  extinct  or  emi¬ 
grated  animals  in  the  undisturbed  Quaternary  beds, 
and  in  the  midst  of  cave  deposits  which  have  never 
been  manipulated.  Man  is  not  only  perfectly  repre¬ 
sented,  but  the  reindeer,  an  animal  now  emigrated  to 
the  north,  the  great  cave-bear,  the  cave-tiger,  the  mam¬ 
moth,  which  are  extinct,  and  habitually  the  carvings 
are  executed  on  the  spoils  of  the  reindeer  and  mammoth 
themselves.  Beyond  all  question,  man  was  the  contem¬ 
porary  of  those  animals,  parts  of  which  he  used  for  his 
sustenance,  and  which  he  has  represented  so  truly  by 
his  art.  No  more  convincing  demonstration  could  be 
desired  or  expected.” 

3.  Epoch  of  the  domesticated  existing  animals  (Polished 
stone  Age).  —  In  this  phase  of  human  progress,  we  are 
to  contemplate  man  as  the  contemporary  of  the  existing 
flora  and  fauna,  but  under  modified  conditions  of  soil 
and  climate.  Between  the  Reindeer  Epoch  and  that 
of  the  Polished  stone,  during  which  the  reindeer,  the 
musk-ox  and  the  great  stag  (  Oervus  alces')  — the  Ameri¬ 
can  moose  —  migrated  to  the  Circumpolar  regions,  a 
considerable  lapse  of  time  is  supposed  to  have  inter¬ 
vened.  At  all  events,  there  is  a  broadly-marked  change 
in  climatic  conditions  —  one  of  those  physical  events  in 
the  world’s  history  from  which  the  geologist  can  assume 
new  lines  of  latitude  and  departure. 

Thus  man  survived  a  revolution  which  was  fatal  to 
the  great  pachyderms  and  ferocious  beasts  of  prey,  and 
wdiich  forced  the  hyperborean  animals  to  seek  a  more 
congenial  climate. 


DANISH  ANTIQUITIES. 


37 


Danish  antiquities.  —  Denmark,  though  for  the  most 
part  low  and  level,  much  of  the  surface  having  been 
wrested,  as  in  Holland,  from  the  sea  by  immense 
mounds  or  dykes,  yet  possesses  a  high  degree  of  interest 
to  the  geologist  and  archaeologist.  The  whole  region, 
at  one  time,  appears  to  have  been  studded  with  tumuli 
and  other  structures  —  the  monuments  of  pre-historic 
races.* 

The  shell-mounds,  known  as  “  kjokkenmbddings,”  and 
which,  long  ago,  were  supposed  to  be  raised  beaches, 
are  not  less  replete  with  human  relics.  These  mounds 
are  from  three  to  ten  feet  in  height,  and  from  one 
hundred  to  a  thousand  feet  in  length,  and  are  composed 
of  shells  of  the  oyster,  cockle,  and  other  mollusks,  inter¬ 
mingled  with  instruments  of  bone,  horn,  flint,  etc.,  thus 
showing  that  these  accumulations  were  made  by  man. 
Whilst  these  shells  are  of  full  growth,  as  compared 
with  those  living  in  the  most  favored  localities,  yet  the 
relative  mingling  of  fresh  and  salt  water  has  so  far 
changed,  that  their  descendants  are  now  excluded  from 
certain  parts  of  the  coast,  whilst  in  other  parts  they  show 
a  stunted  growth.  In  these  refuse-heaps,  no  metallic 
implements  have  been  detected,  and  the  bones  of  ani¬ 
mals  belong  to  species  still  living  in  Europe,  and  com¬ 
mon  to  the  region,  except  where  their  extirpation,  as 


*  “  It  is  estimated,”  says  Sir  John  Lubbock,  “that  not  a  day  passes 
without  witnessing  the  destruction  of  one  or  more  of  these  tumuli,  and 
the  loss  of  perhaps  some  irrecoverable  link  in  the  history  of  the  human 
race.  Many  of  the  burrows,  indeed,  contain  in  themselves  a  small  col¬ 
lection  of  antiquities,  and  the  whole  country  even  may  be  considered  as 
a  museum  on  a  great  scale.  The  peat  bogs,  which  occupy  so  large  an 
area,  may  almost  be  said  to  swarm  with  antiquities  ;  and  Professor  Steen- 
strup  estimates  that,  on  an  average,  every  column  of  peat  three  feet  square, 
contains  some  specimen  of  ancient  workmanship.”  —  (“Pre-historic 
Times,”  pp.  223  and  224.) 


38 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


in  the  ease  of  the  heaver,  can  be  traced  to  the  direct 
agency  of  man.  The  bones  of  the  emigrated  anunals, 
such  as  the  reindeer  and  musk-ox,  are  wanting,  but  in 
those  of  the  dog,  we  meet  for  the  first  time,  with  evi¬ 
dences  of  the  domesticated  animals. 

From  these  relics  we  can  gather  certain  definite  ideas 
as  to  the  manners  and  customs  of  man  at  that  day.  The 
food  which  he  drew  from  the  ocean  consisted  of  shell¬ 
fish,  such  as  the  oyster,  the  coclde,  the  mussel,  and 
periwinkle ;  and  of  the  vertebrated  fishes,  such  as  the 
herring,  the  dorse,  the  dab,  and  the  eel.  Of  the  feathered 
tribe,  he  captured  almost  exclusively  the  aquatic  birds, 
such  as  the  swan,  the  goose,  and  several  species  of  the 
duck,  and,  also,  the  great  auk,  now  supposed  to  be 
extinet,  although  living  within  the  memory  of  man. 
Of  land  animals,  the  stag,  the  roedeer,  and  the  wild 
boar,  were  the  great  sources  of  food,  constituting 
ninety-seven  per  cent,  of  the  bones  ;  while  those  of  the 
urus,  dog,  fox,  wolf,  marten,  beaver,  wild-cat,  hedge¬ 
hog,  lynx,  and  bear  are  occasionally  met  with.  This 
list  is  instructive,  for  we  find  that  the  dog,  at  this 
period,  first  became  the  companion  of  man;  a  com¬ 
panionship  which  has  since  been  maintained  by  man  in 
all  his  migrations  the  world  over.  There  is  no  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  the  other  domestic  animals,  such 
as  the  horse,  the  ox,  sheep,  or  hog. 

The  skulls  which  have  been  recovered  would  indi¬ 
cate  that  the  people  resembled  the  Lapps,  and  it  would 
appear  that  their  front  teeth  did  not  overlap  as  ours  do, 
but  met  together  like  a  vise — a  peculiarity  observed  at 
this  day  in  the  Esquimaux.  In  the  shell-heaps,  the 
stone  implements  are  almost  exclusively  of  flint,  rudely 
flaked  into  knives,  lance-heads,  hammers,  etc. ;  but 
there  is  no  attempt  at  polishing.  In  the  large  tumuli, 


DANISH  ANTIQmTIES. 


39 


the  stone  implements  are  dexterously  worked.  From 
this  difference  in  the  relics,  Professor  Worsaac  has  pro¬ 
posed  to  divide  the  Stone  Age  into  an  older  and  later 
epoch,  but  Professor  Steenstrup  considers  that  the  two 
classes  of  implements  represent  two  different  phases  of 
one  single  condition  of  civilization ;  the  tumuli  being 
the  burial  places  of  chiefs,  and  the  shell-heaps  the  refuse 
of  fishermen. 

The  climate,  at  this  period,  must  have  become  less 
rigorous  than  during  the  Reindeer  Epoch,  and  the  soil 
was  undoubtedly  adapted  to  agriculture,  yet  we  meet 
with  no  remains  of  the  cerealia,  with  no  implements 
which  would  suggest  an  application  for  cultivating  the 
ground. 

The  magnificent  collection  of  bronze  implements  in 
the  museum  of  Copenhagen,  by  their  beauty  of  form 
and  curious  workmanship,  show  an  immense  stride  on 
the  part  of  the  pre-historic  Danes  in  a  knowledge  of 
the  practical  arts ;  and  to  have  attained  to  this  perfec¬ 
tion,  implies  a  lapse  of  time  to  be  measured  only  by 
thousands  of  years.  To  smelt  copper  and  alloy  it  with 
a  nearly  fixed  percentage  of  tin  to  form  bronze,  shows 
a  considerable  knowledge  of  metallurgy.  To  obtain 
the  requisite  heat  requires  something  in  the  nature  of  a 
furnace,  supplied  with  pipes  for  maintaining  a  constant 
blast.  Successful  in  reducing  copper,  it  Avould  be  but 
natural  for  these  ancient  smelters  to  experiment  on  the 
more  refractory  ores,  and  hence  it  has  been  inferred, 
perhaps  too  rashly,  that  the  Iron  Age  rapidly  succeeded 
to  that  of  Bronze. 

In  the  lower  beds  of  peat,  flint  implements  have  been 
taken  out  beneath  the  embedded  trunks  of  the  Scotch 
fir  (Pinus  sylvestris)^  a  tree  which  has  not  been  indig¬ 
enous  to  the  region  within  the  Historic  Period,  and 


40 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


which,  when  introduced,  grows  with  a  sickly  growth — 
thus  showing  that  the  climate  has  undergone  marked 
changes  since  these  flint  implements  were  deposited. 
To  the  fir  succeeded  the  oak,  now  nearly  extinct,  asso¬ 
ciated  with  bronze  implements ;  while  implements  of 
iron  are  associated  with  the  beech. 

Denmark,  when  first  known  to  the  Roman,  was 
covered  with  magnificent  forests  of  beech,  and  to  this 
day  it  is  the  predominating  tree ;  and  yet  among  the 
recovered  bones  of  the  feathered  tribe,  from  the  peat 
bogs,  are  those  of  the  capercailzie  {Tetrao  urogallus'), 
which  feeds  principally  upon  the  buds  of  the  pine, 
which  has  ceased  to  exist. 

The  geological  succession  of  events,  as  disclosed  by 
the  Danish  discoveries,  would  appear  to  be  after  the 
following  order :  The  Reindeer  Epoch  had  closed,  and 
the  animals  fitted  for  an  Arctic  climate,  which  formerly 
roamed  over  France,  and  almost  to  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  had  retired  to  the  far  north,  before  the 
earthen  tumuli  and  shell-heaps,  and  other  relics  of 
human  occupancy  had  been  erected;  and  were  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  a  fauna  now  indigenous  to  the  region.  On 
the  land,  changes  in  the  character  of  the  arborescent 
vegetation  were  going  on.  The  pine  —  associated  with 
the  oldest  stone  implements,  and  on  whose  buds  the 
capercailzie  fed,  gave  place  to  the  oak — associated  with 
bronze  implements,  which  in  turn  gave  place  to  the 
beech  —  associated  with  iron  implements,  the  predom¬ 
inant  type  of  vegetation  at  this  time.  Thus,  this  suc¬ 
cession  in  climatic  changes  corresponded  very  closely 
with  the  archaeological  changes  of  the  ages  of  Stone, 
Bronze  and  Iron,  bringing  down  the  record  to  the 
Historical  Period. 

In  the  inland  seas,  the  changes  were  no  less  marked. 


SWISS  LAKE -DWELLINGS, 


41 


The  waters  of  the  Baltic  had  become  so  far  brackish  that 
certain  marine  univalves  and  bivalves,  which  attained 
their  full  size  in  the  Pre-historic  Period,  have  now  ceased 
to  live  in  their  ancient  habitats,  or  have  become  dwarfed 
in  their  dimensions.  The  inference,  therefore,  is,  that 
at  the  time  of  the  Stone  Age,  the  ocean  poured  a  great 
volume  of  salt  water  into  the  Baltic,  through  channels 
from  which  it  is  now  excluded.* 

Lacustrine  habitations  of  Switzerland. —  “  It  had  long 
been  known  to  the  inhabitants  upon  the  shores  of  the 
Swiss  lakes,”  says  M.  Desor,  “  that  there  existed  in 
many  of  them  ancient  posts  or  piles,  which,  without 
reaching  the  surface,  rose  to  the  height  of  from  one  to 
two  feet  above  the  bottom.  On  Lake  Neuchatel,  they 
were  especially  known  to  the  fishermen,  who  dreaded 
them  as  a  cause  of  injury  to  their  nets.  Doubtless  also 
boatmen,  in  crossing  the  bay  of  Auvernier  or  coasting 
along  the  southern  shore  when  the  weather  was  calm, 
have  now  and  then  stopped  for  a  moment  above  these 
piles,  wondering  meanwhile  to  whom  the  strange  idea 
could  have  occurred  of  driving  them  at  such  a  depth , 
and  as  no  inhabitant,  not  even  the  oldest  fisherman, 
could  tell  anything  about  their  origin,  the  only  conclu¬ 
sion  arrived  at  was,  that  ‘  all  must  be  very  ancient.’ 
More  than  once,  too,  from  the  ooze  of  the  lake,  had 
been  drawn  at  low  water,  large  horns  of  the  deer,  and 
strange  utensils  whose  origin  was  unknown ;  among 
other  occasions,  at  the  lake  of  Zurich,  in  1820,  and  still 
later,  at  the  lake  of  Bienne.  These  things,  however, 
remained  a  dead  letter ;  the  circumstance  was  thought 
to  be  curious,  but  nothing  more.  An  idea  has  sufficed 
to  restore  life,  in  some  sort,  to  those  ancient  remains, 
and  draw  from  them  surprising  inferences.  A  man  of 

*  Lyell’s  “  Antiquity  of  Man,”  p.  372. 


42 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OP  MAN. 


true  science  hap^Dens  to  pass  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
works  which,  during  the  low  stage  of  water  in  the 
winter  of  1853-4,  were  executing  at  Meilen,  on  Lake 
Zurich.  To  him  are  shown  the  half-decomposed  posts 
drawn  up  from  the  dark  mud,  which  the  lake  had 
temporarily  abandoned,  and  here  and  there  some  rude 
fragments  of  pottery,  evidently  very  ancient,  but  not 
Roman,  for  it  is  black,  imperfectly  baked,  and  fashioned 
by  hand,  without  the  aid  of  the  potter’s  wheel.  The 
utensils,  the  arms,  the  posts,  which  accompany  them, 
have  a  still  more  primitive  aspect ;  they  recall  analogous 
objects  collected  in  the  peat  mosses  of  Scandinavia,  and 
must  consequently  be  of  a  very  high  antiquity.  What 
had  escaped  all  notice  was  the  relation  which  these 
objects  bear  to  one  another,  and  especially  to  the  piles 
imbedded  in  the  ooze.  Yet  the  arms  and  pottery  are 
not  dispersed  at  hazard ;  they  are  limited  to  a  particu¬ 
lar  stratum,  having  a  thickness  of  two  feet,  which  has 
received  the  name  of  ‘  the  archaeological  stratum.’ 
Moreover,  they  are  accumulated  around  the  piles,  where 
they  are  found  in  large  quantities,  while  they  diminish 
and  disappear  in  proportion  as  you  recede  from  them, 
thus  showing  that  there  is  a  connection  between  the 
pits  and  the  antique  objects.  It  was  this  connection 
which  M.  Ferdinand  Keller,  guided  by  his  practised 
eye,  was  enabled  to  detect,  and  which,  once  caught 
sight  of,  has  become  the  torch  to  conduct  us  to  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  an  unknown  world.  In  effect,  such  an  asso¬ 
ciation  of  arms  and  implements  indicated,  beyond  a 
doubt,  traces  of  man.  The  piles,  upright  in  the  midst 
of  these  objects,  had  been  placed  there  by  design,  evi¬ 
dently  to  support  some  construction,  but  as  their  founda¬ 
tion  is  below  the  mean  water-level,  they  must  evidently 
have  been  planted  in  the  water.  There  had  existed. 


SWISS  mPLEMENTS. 


43 


therefore,  habitations  or  storehouses,  built  intentionally 
on  the  water,  at  the  places  indicated  by  the  piles.  The 
number  of  scattered  utensils  corresponding  with  the 
thickness  of  the  bed  which  contains  them,  bore  witness, 
in  turn,  to  a  prolonged  sojoui’n.  Consequently  there 
had  been  an  epoch  during  which  the  inhabitants  of  that 
country  constructed  places  of  refuge  on  the  water,  if, 
indeed,  they  did  not  dwell  there.  It  was  the  period  of 
Lacustrine  Constructions. 

“  The  hint  being  first  given  by  the  publication  of  M. 
Keller,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Archaeological  Society  of 
Zurich,  the  zeal  and  activity  of  our  Swiss  antiquarians 
might  safely  be  relied  upon  to  elaborate  this  new  vein, 
which,  indeed,  did  not  long  delay  to  furnish  us  with 
scientific  treasures.  They  began  by  seeking  for  piles  in 
other  Swiss  lakes.  The  fishermen  could  almost  every¬ 
where  point  them  out,  and  these  piles,  became  in  turn, 
valuable  guides  in  conducting  to  unexpected  discoveries. 
At  Meilen,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  object  in 
metal,  only  utensils  of  bone  and  stone  had  been  brought 
to  light.  Elsewhere,  and  more  especially  in  the  lakes 
of  Eastern  Switzerland,  besides  stations  recalling  those 
of  Lake  Zurich,  were  discovered  other  stations  which, 
instead  of  objects  of  silex  and  bone,  yielded  numbers  of 
utensils  in  bronze.  These  articles  bore  witness  to  a 
much  more  advanced  civilization.  The  Lacustrian 
Period,  therefore,  embraced  several  distinct  phases.  It 
became  an  interesting  problem  to  investigate  and  fix,  if 
possible,  the  peculiar  character  of  these  different  phases 
or  epochs.  .  .  .  Hence,  as  in  the  North,  three 

epochs  were  distinguished :  That  of  Stone,  Bronze,  and 
Iron.”  * 

It  may  be  remarked  that  the  oldest  of  these  epochs, 

*  M.  Desor,  “  Palafittes,  or  Lacustrine  Constructions,”  etc.,  pp.  3,  5,  6. 


44 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  IVIAN. 


as  in  Scandinavia,  does  not  extend  back  to  the  Rein¬ 
deer  Epoch  of  Southern  France. 

More  than  two  hundred  of  these  lake  habitations 
have  been  discovered  in  Switzerland  alone,  and  appear 
to  be  common  to  the  three  epochs.  The  trees  selected, 
for  the  piles  during  the  Stone  Age,  from  three  to  six 
inches  in  diameter,  were  felled  by  stone  axes,  and  the 
end  to  be  driven  into  the  ground  was  sharpened  by 
burning.  The  piles  are  embedded  in  mud  from  one  to 
five  feet,  but  where  the  bottom  was  hard,  stones  were 
brought  and  filled  in,  forming  what  are  known  as 
“  tenevieres.”  The  upper  end  of  the  piles  projected, 
probably  from  four  to  six  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and  upon  these  was  laid  a  platform,  serving  as 
the  foundation  of  the  hut.  It  is  supposed  that  as  many 
as  three  hundred  of  these  huts  were  grouped  together, 
giving  shelter  to  as  many  as  a  thousand  people,  with  a 
narrow  causeway  connecting  with  the  shore.  The 
offal  and  ashes  were  allowed  to  drop  into  the  lake,  but 
it  is  difficult  to  explain  why  so  many  human  relics, 
useful  in  their  rude  arts  and  the  product  of  much  labor, 
were  permitted  to  share  the  same  destination.  These 
relics,  thus  embedded  in  a  medium  which  resisted 
decay,  when  dredged  at  this  day  from  their  long  resting 
place,  appear  fresh  and  uninjured.  The  arrow-heads 
of  the  Swiss  lake-dwellers  were  made  of  flint,  but  some¬ 
times  of  rock-crystal.  In  their  axes,  jade  or  nephrite 
was  used — a  mineral  which,  strange  to  say,  geologists 
have  not  found  in  place  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 
Deer’s  horn  was  employed  for  hammers,  war-clubs,  and  as 
handles  for  hatchets.  Their  pottery,  of  which  no  entire 
vessels  have  been  found,  was  rude  and  coarse.  They 
probably  clothed  themselves  to  a  great  extent  in  skins, 
yet  fragments  of  cloth,  regularly  spun  and  woven,  and 


DOMESTICATED  ANIMALS  AND  PLANTS. 


45 


of  a  flax  fibre, .  have  been  found.  This  is  the  first 
instance  we  have  of  weaving,  unless  it  be  in  the  case 
of  the  Mound-builders  of  this  country. 

The  remains  of  contemporary  animals,  which  have 
been  ably  investigated  by  Professor  Rutimeyer,possess 
the  highest  interest.  All  the  wild  animals  still  survive, 
except  the  wild  bull  (Ros  primigenius),  whose  descend¬ 
ants,  it  is  conjectured,  are  to  be  found  in  our  larger 
cattle.  Among  the  domesticated  animals  were  the  dog, 
and,  for  the  first  time  noticed,  the  pig,  horse,  goat, 
sheep,  and  at  least  two  kinds  of  oxen.  I  need  hardly 
pause  to  describe  how  essentially  these  domestic  ani¬ 
mals  contribute  to  the  support  and  comfort  of  man ; 
some  in  supplying  him  with  food  and  raiment,  and  some 
in  lightening  his  daily  toil,  and  in  removing  heavy  ob¬ 
stacles  with  ease  and  expedition,  which  would  require 
the  combined  labor  of  many  men,  and  would  occupy  a 
very  considerable  time.  The  horse,  perhaps,  was  the 
most  useful  ally  of  all. 

Here,  too,  we  meet  with  the  first  evidences  of  the 
use  of  cereals  as  an  article  of  human  food.  Three 
varieties  of  wheat,  two  of  barley,  and  two  of  millet 
have  been  found,  together  with  peas  ;  but  rye  and  oats 
were  unknown.  The  cultivated  plants,  according  to 
fleer,  differ  from  the  existing  varieties,  and  invariably 
have  smaller  seeds  or  fruits.  Carbonized  apples  have 
also  been  met  with,  cut  in  two  or  more  parts,  as  though 
dried  and  put  aside  for  winter’s  use.  The  seeds  of  the 
raspberry,  blackberry,  strawberry,  the  shells  of  the 
hazel-nut  and  beech-nut,  and  the  stones  of  the  wild 
plum,  have  been  recovered.  This,  then,  was  the  era  of 
domesticated  animals  and  plants — an  important  stride 
in  human  progress.  Heer  has  further  shown  that  these 
civilized  plants  are  not  of  Asiatic,  but  of  African,  and  to 
a  great  extent,  of  Egyptian  origin. 


46 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


The  Bronze  Epoch  was  signalized  bj  an  advance  still 
more  important.  The  art  of  hardening  copper  furnished 
man  with  a  class  of  weapons  far  more  efficient  in  fell¬ 
ing  the  forests  and  turning  up  the  soil,  than  he  had 
hitherto  possessed.  Few  of  us  realize  how  formidable 
a  barrier  a  luxuriant  forest  interposes  to  a  people  pos¬ 
sessed  only  of  rude  implements,  in  all  that  relates  to  an 
interchange  of  commodities  and  agricultural  develop¬ 
ment.  At  this  day,  an  Amazonian  forest,  by  its  very 
rankness  of  vegetation,  resists  all  attempts  of  man,  with 
his  vastly-improved  implements,  to  subdue  it. 

While  copper  is  not  sparingly  distributed  throughout 
Europe,  tin  is  restricted  to  two  or  three  known  locali¬ 
ties,  and  the  fact  that  widely-separated  peoples,  like 
those  of  Ireland,  England,  Denmark,  Switzerland,  Italy, 
etc.,  were  able  to  supply  themselves  with  this  rare  and 
essential  metal,  implies  that  there  must  have  existed 
at  that  early  period,  a  maritime  nation  with  whom  they 
cultivated  close  commercial  relations.  The  implements 
manufactured  from  this  compound  consist  of  axes, 
swords  (invariably  leaf-shaped,  as  though  used  for 
thrusting),  javelins,  daggers,  and  knives,  together  with 
personal  ornaments,  such  as  bracelets,  torques,  brooches, 
and  hair-pins. 

The  Iron  Epoch  comes  down  so  near  to  the  Historic 
Period,  that  it  may  be  dismissed  with  a  single  remark. 
It  is,  emphatically,  to  a  knowledge  of  the  art  of  reducing 
and  tempering  iron  that  man  is  so  largely  indebted  for 
the  mastery  which  he  has  been  able  to  acquire  over  the 
forces  of  nature.  This  art  has  enabled  him  to  replace 
his  rude  implements  with  others  far  more  efficient,  and 
consequently  to  add  greatly  to  his  comforts.  To  iron 
we  owe  the  steam-engine,  the  railway,  the  steamship, 
the  magnet,  the  telegraph,  and  a  thousand  combinations 


AGE  OF  PALAFITTES. 


47 


of  labor-saving  machinery,  and  each  year  new  applica¬ 
tions  are  devised  and  brought  into  use.  Possessed  of 
these  tremendous  resources,  there  is  no  danger  that  the 
enlightened  nations  will  ever  relapse  into  barbarism. 

With  regard  to  the  relative  age  of  the  j^alafittes,  M. 
Desor  remarks : 

“  It  is  beyond  doubt  that  the  duration  of  each  of  the 
periods  which  we  have  been  reviewing,  was  very  long. 
They  bear  each  their  peculiar  stamp,  which  can  be 
impressed  only  by  time,  among  j^opulations  which  have 
a  fixed  residence,  and  whose  prolonged  sojourn  in  the 
different  stations  of  our  lake  (Neuchatel)  is  attested 
by  a  considerable  accumulation  of  ruins.  It  is  equally 
certain  that  the  lacustrine  constructions  ascend  to  a 
very  remote  epoch,  since  there  exists  no  tradition,  no 
legend,  which  makes  any  allusion  to  them,  since  ancient 
chronicles  are  wholly  silent  with  regard  to  them,  and 
none  of  the  authors  of  antiquity,  who  have  spoken  of 
Helvetia,  make  any  mention  of  them.”* 

M.  Morlot,  taking  advantage  of  a  section,  made  in 
constructing  a  railway  across  the  delta  of  the  Tiniere, 
an  affluent  of  Lake  Geneva,  which  is  in  the  form  of  a 
flattened  cone,  and  whose  structure  implies  that  it  has 
been  formed  very  gradually  and  by  the  uniform  action 
of  the  same  causes,  has  undertaken  to  compute  the  du¬ 
ration  of  these  several  ej)ochs,  each  of  which  is  repre¬ 
sented  by  an  ancient  stratum.  By  comparing  the  depths 
of  these  different  strata  and  estimating  the  rate  of  their 
deposition,  he  has  been  led  to  assign  to  the  Bronze 
Epoch  a  date  of  between  3000  and  4000  years,  and  to 
the  Stone  Epoch  a  date  of  from  5000  to  7000  years. 

M.  Gilleiron,  from  a  study  of  the  lake  of  Bienne,  by 
adopting  the  known  rate  of  the  gain  of  the  land  in  seven 

*  “  Lacustrine  Constructions,”  p.  52. 


48 


THE  AHTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


and  one-half  centuries,  has  arrived  at  a  result  nearly 
analogous  with  regard  to  the  date  of  the  Stone  Epoch 
—  sixty-seven  and  one-half  centuries. 

Lacustrine  constructions  exist  in  Austria,  Bavaria, 
and  Italy.  Pliny  had  his  country  seat  in  their  vicinage, 
upon  the  banks  of  Lake  Como.  “  If  this  celebrated 
writer,’’  remarks  M.  Desor,  “  had  not  a  single  word  to 
bequeath  to  us  upon  lacustrine  habitations,  we  feel 
authorized  to  conclude  that  these  constructions  existed 
no  longer  at  that  date  (a.  d.  T9),  but  that  they  had 
even  perished  from  the  memory  of  men.”  The  Phoeni¬ 
cians  and  Etruscans  were  acquainted  with  the  use  of 
iron,  and,  therefore,  if  they  were  the  importers  of  the 
tin  which  enters  into  the  composition  of  the  bronze 
instruments  of  Scandinavia  and  Switzerland,  it  is  diffi¬ 
cult  to  account  for  the  entire  absence  of  iron  imple¬ 
ments  in  those  countries  during  the  Bronze  Epoch. 
“We  must  look,  then,”  says  M.  Desor,  “  beyond  both  the 
Etruscans  and  Phoenicians,  in  attempting  to  identify 
the  commerce  of  the  Bronze  Epoch  with  our  palafittes.” 

Pre-historic  remains  in  the  Nile  Valley.  —  Another 
class  of  researches  which  throws  light  upon  the  high 
antiquity  of  man  may  properly^be  adverted  to.  Be¬ 
tween  1851  and  1854,  Mr.  Leonard  Horner,  under  the 
joint  auspices  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London  and  the 
Egyptian  Government,  carried  two  series  of  shafts 
and  borings  across  the  Nile  Valley,  between  Heliopolis 
and  Memphis.  Jars,  pots,  and  vases,  and,  in  one  in¬ 
stance,  a  copper  knife,  were  brought  up  within  the  first 
sixteen  feet,  which  consisted  of  excavation,  when,  in 
consequence  of  water,  the  auger  was  substituted  and 
carried  to  the  depth,  in  some  instances,  of  seventy-two 
feet.  Almost  everywhere,  and  at  all  depths,  fragments 
of  burnt  brick  were  brought  up  ;  nor  did  the  workmen 


RELICS  IN  THE  NILE  MUD. 


49 


penetrate  to  the  bottom  of  the  alluvial  sediment.  All 
the  bones  met  with  belonged  to  living  species,  such  as 
the  ox,  dog,  ass,  and  dromedary,  and  all  the  shells  were 
of  fresh- water  origin  and  common  to  the  region. 

Mr.  Horner  instituted  experiments  with  a  view  of  ob¬ 
taining  an  accurate  scale  for  determining  the  age  of  a 
given  amount  of  Nile  sediment.  M.  Rosiere,  who  ac¬ 
companied  the  expedition  of  Napoleon  to  that  country, 
had  estimated  that  the  Nile  mud  accumulated  at  the 
rate  of  five  inches  in  a  century.  Mr.  Horner  did  not 
deem  it  proper  to  adopt  this  as  a  chronometrie  scale,  but 
preferred  to  examine  the  accumulation  which  had  taken 
place  around  monuments  of  a  known  age,  and  for  this 
purpose  selected  the  obelisk  of  Heliopolis,  which  is 
believed  to  have  been  erected  2300  years  B.  c.,  and 
adding  1850,  there  had  elapsed  4150  years,  in  which 
eleven  feet  of  sediment  had  been  deposited,  which  i«  at 
the  rate  of  3.18  inches  a  century.  “  Entire  reliance 
cannot  be  placed  on  this  conclusion,”  says  Mr.  Horner, 
“  principally  because  it  is  possible  that  the  site  origin¬ 
ally  chosen  for  the  temple  and  city  of  Heliopolis  was  a 
portion  of  land  somewhat  raised  above  the  level  of  the 
rest  of  the  desert.”  *  In  the  case  of  the  colossal  statue 
of  Memphis,  the  surface  is  10  feet  6f  inches  above  the 
base  of  the  platform.  Assuming  that  this  platform  was 
sunk  14|  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  at  the 
time  it  was  laid,  the  accumulation  would  be  OJ  feet. 
Raineses  is  supiiosed  to  have  reigned  between  1394  and 
1328  B.  c.,  which  would  give  an  antiquity  of  3215  years, 
and  consequently  a  mean  increase  of  3^  inches  of  sedi¬ 
ment  in  a  century. 

If  we  take  2J  inches  as  the  scale,  a  work  of  art  72 
feet  deep  must  have  been  buried  more  than  30,000 

*  “  Philosophical  Transactions,”  1858,  p.  73. 

D 


50 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OP  MAN. 


years  ago.  The  pottery  found  by  Mr.  Horner,  at  the 
depth  of  39  feet,  according  to  his  scale,  must  have  been 
buried  13,000  years. 

Experienced  Egyptologists  do  not  regard  his  data  as 
sufficient ;  but  the  fact  is  unquestioned  that  deep  down 
in  the  Nile  mud,  beneath  the  foundations  of  monuments 
whose  origin  reaches  back  to  the  dawn  of  the  Historic 
Period,  are  found  the  relics  of  a  still  older  people,  who 
flourished  at  a  time  when  the  conditions  of  soil  and 
climate  were  apparently  the  same  as  at  this  day ;  and 
yet  these  people  were  modern  as  compared  to  those  who 
were  the  contemporaries  of  the  great  Siberian  elephant 
and  rhinoceros. 

Here,  in  the  Nile  valley,  are  the  ruins  of  mighty  cities 
which  we  have  been  accustomed  to  regard  as  among 
the  oldest  monuments  of  man’s  work.  Here  stand  the 
Pyramids,  upon  which  Moses  and  his  fellow  captives 
are  supposed  by  some  to  have  toiled,  when  in  Egyptian 
bondage.  The  deserted  temples,  the  prostrate  obelisks, 
and  other  mouldering  structures  are  inscribed  with 
characters  which  have  challenged  the  antiquarian’s  skill 
to  interpret.  In  our  reckless  curiosity  we  have  invaded 
the  chambers  of  the  dead,  and  dragged  forth  to  light, 
forms,  embalmed  with  rich  spices  and  ointments,  which 
were  once  instinct  with  life,  and  whose  minds  were 
agitated  by  the  same  passions  and  swayed  by  the  same 
motives  that  control  us ;  and  yet  the  tread  of  these  men 
was  above  the  dust  of  generations  whose  name  and 
nation,  even  then,  had  perished  from  the  earth. 


Note.  —  It  has  been  argued  from  palaeontological  analogies,  that  we 
may  expect  to  find  the  relics  of  man  in  the  Miocene  Tertiary,  and  there 
are  some  obscure  facts  which  sustain  such  an  opinion. 

M.  Desonyers,  in  the  Comptes  Rendus  for  June  1863,  has  described 
certain  markings  on  some  bones  obtained  by  him  from  the  Upper  Pliocene 


EABLIEST  TRACES  OF  MAN. 


51 


beds  of  St.  Prest,  which  are  analogous  to  those  produced  by  flint  knives 
and  several  of  the  deer  skulls  were  broken  in  the  same  way,  as  if  by  a  blow 
at  the  base  of  the  horns.  M.  I’Abbe  Bourgeois,  at  the  same  place,  has 
discovered  worked  flints  ;  but  the  true  position  of  the  bed  in  which  these 
relics  were  found  has  not  been  satisfactorily  determined.  Professor  G. 
Ramorino,  of  Italy,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Natural  History,  in 
1867,  exhibited  some  bones  from  the  Pliocene,  which  showed  the  marks  of 
knives.  M.  Bourgeois,  from  the  Miocene  of  Pontlevoy,  recovered  many 
flints  which  showed  the  marks  of  fire,  and  others  which  showed,  in  his 
opinion,  evident  marks  of  human  workmanship.  The  marks  of  fire  do 
not  absolutely  prove  that  they  were  produced  by  human  agency. 

M.  Tardy  has  described  a  flint  flake  found  by  him  in  the  Miocene  beds 
of  Aurillac  (Auvergne). 

The  ancestors  of  the  European  man,  probably,  originated  in  the  warm 
regions  of  Africa  or  Asia,  and  it  is  to  researches  in  those  regions,  which 
are  comparatively  unknown,  that  the  ethnologist  now  looks  with  the 
keenest  interest. 

There  are  two  admirable  English  works  relating  to  the  subject  of  the 
foregoing  chapter, — Sir  Charles  Lyell’s  “  Antiquity  of  Man  ”  and  Sir 
John  Lubbock’s  "  Pre-historic  Times,”  which  should  be  read  by  those 
desirous  of  fully  investigating  the  evidence  upon  this  subject. 


CHAPTER  II.  . 

THE  ANTIQUITY  OP  MAN  —  EVIDENCES  IN  THE  UNITED 

STATES. 

I  HAVE  given,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  a  brief 
summary  of  the  European  evidences  of  the  antiquity 
of  our  race,  as  collected  and  collated  by  men  of  the 
highest  scientific  attainments.  A  deep  feeling  of  dis¬ 
trust  pervades  the  public  mind  of  this  country,  in 
reference  to  every  discovery  which  is  supposed  to  carry 
back  the  origin  of  man  to  a  period  antecedent  to  the 
Historical  Era ;  and  yet,  reasoning  from  palseontological 
analogies,  we  ought  to  expect  to  find  evidences  of  the 
human  occupancy  of  this  continent,  reaching  back  to 
an  antiquity  as  remote  as  on  the  European  continent. 
Nor  are  such  evidences  wanting,  although  less  abundant 
and  less  conclusive ;  but  when  our  superficial  deposits 
shall  have  been  as  thoroughly  investigated  as  those  of 
Europe,  we  may  expect  to  find  proofs  of  the  existence 
of  the  elder  man  equally  authentic.  The  results  hitherto 
obtained  are  of  a  nature  to  stimulate  us  to  renewed 
exertions,  and  to  encourage  the  hope  that  this  country 
will  afford  the  materials  to  aid  in  the  interpretation  of 
one  of  the  most  interesting  pages  in  the  history  of  the 
past. 

Evidences  of  man's  works  in  the  gold-drift  of  Cali¬ 
fornia. —  In  1857,  Dr.  C.  F.  Winslow  sent  to  the  Boston 

52 


(;ALA VERAS  SKULL. 


53 


Natural  History  Society,  the  fragment  of  a  human 
cranium  found  in  the  “pay-dirt,”  in  connection  with 
the  bones  of  the  mastodon  and  elephant,  one  hundred 
and  eighty  feet  below  the  surface  of  Table  Mountain, 
California.  Dr.  Winslow  has  described  to  me  all  the 
particulars  in  reference  to  this  “  find,”  and  there  is  no 
doubt  in  his  mind,  that  the  remains  of  man  and  the 
great  quadrupeds  were  deposited  contemporaneously. 

Another  discoveiy  of  a  human  cranium,  in  this  State, 
deep  down  in  the  gold-drift,  and  covered  with  five 
successive  overflows  of  lava,  was  looked  ui^on  with 
incredulity  by  what  might  be  called  the  intelligent 
portion  of  the  community,  and  the  reputed  finder  was 
accused  of  an  attempt  to  perpetrate  a  scientific  fraud ; 
but  Professor  Whitney,  who  succeeded  in  securing  this 
relic  for  the  museum  of  the  State  Geological  Survey, 
after  a  careful  examination  of  the  locality  where  it  was 
said  to  be  found,  and  after  having  questioned  the  per¬ 
sons  who  had  had  it  in  their  possession,  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  the  find  was  authentic. 

This  skull  was  found  in  a  shaft  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  deep,  two  miles  from  Angelos,  in  Calaveras  County. 
The  shaft  passed  through  five  beds  of  lava  and  volcanic 
tufa,  and  four  beds  of  auriferous  gravel.  The  upper 
bed  of  tufa  was  homogeneous,  and  without  a  crack 
through  which  a  human  relic  could  have  been  intro¬ 
duced  into  the  lower  Ijeds.  The  skull  was  given  to 
Professor  Wyman  to  describe,  who  found  great  difficulty 
in  removing  the  cemented  gravel  with  wdiich  it  was 
incrusted.  It  was  subsequently  submitted  to  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science, 
at  the  Chicago  meeting,  in  18G9,  and  Professor  Whitney 
communicated  a  statement  of  the  conditions  under 
which  it  was  found,  but  no  report  of  his  remarks  was 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


54  • 


made.  Portions  of  the  cemented  gravel  yet  adhered  to 
the  rehc.  This  skull,  admitting  its  authenticity,  carries 
back  the  advent  of  man  to  the  Pliocene  Epoch,  and  is 
therefore  older  than  the  stone  implements  of  the  drift- 
gravel  of  Abbeville  and  Amiens,  or  the  relics  furnished 
by  the  cave-dirt  of  Belgium  and  France. 

With  regard  to  the  gold-drift  of  California,  according 
to  Mr.  Whitney,  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  the  former 
existence  of  the  Great  Northern  Current,  whose  course 
on  the  eastern  part  of  the  continent  is  so  conspicuously 
marked  by  the  grooving  and  polishing  of  the  rocks,  and 
the  deposit  of  long  trains  of  erratic  blocks ;  and  the 
absence  of  these  phenomena  is  observed  along  the  whole 
Pacific  Coast  of  the  United  States,  and  the  eastern 
flanks  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  But  there  is  evidence 
that  the  Sierra  Nevada  was  once  occupied  by  glaciers 
which,  in  their  descent,  ground  up  and  dispersed  the 
gold-bearing  quartz,  and  entombed  the  remains  of  the 
fossil  elephant  and  other  contemporary  animals.  The 
age  of  these  gravels  is  referred  by  Professor  Whitney 
to  the  Pliocene,  or  the  age  before  the  volcanic  eruptions 
which  cover  a  greater  part  of  the  State,  took  place. 
Since  the  introduction,  then,  of  man,  the  physical  feat¬ 
ures,  as  well  as  the  climate  of  this  region,  have  under¬ 
gone  great  changes.  The  volcanic  peaks  of  the  Sierra 
have  been  lifted  up,  the  glaciers  have  disappeared,  the 
great  canons  themselves  have  been  excavated  in  the 
solid  rock,  and  what  were  once  the  beds  of  streams 
now  form  the  Table  Mountains. 

A  few  years  ago,  Mr.  J.  Stanley  Grimes  presented  to 
the  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences,  on  behalf  of  Mr.  John 
Shipman,  of  Knightstown,  Indiana,  an  implement  from 
the  gravel  deposits  of  California,  which  is  represented 
in  the  following  figure  : 


PLUMMET  IN  GRAVEL -BEDS. 


•55 


The  material  is  sienite,  and  the  Fig.  2.  =  ^. 
instrument  is  ground  and  polished  so 
as  to  display  in  marked  contrast  the 
pure  white  of  the  feldspar  and  the 
dark -green  or  black  of  the  horn¬ 
blende.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  double¬ 
cone,  one  end  terminating  in  a  point, 
while  the  other  end  is  blunted,  where 
it  is  pierced  with  a  hole  which  instead 
of  being  a  uniform  gauge,  is  rimmed 
out,  the  rimming  having  been  started 
from  the  oiiposite  sides. 

In  examining  this  beautiful  relic, 
one  is  led  almost  instinctively  to 
believe  that  it  was  used  as  a  plum-  (?)  from  San 

Joaquin  Valley,  Cal. 

met  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
the  perjrendicular  to  the  horizon.  So  highly-wrought 
a  stone  would  hardly  have  been  used  as  a  sinker  for 
a  fishing-net:  it  may  have  been  suspended  from  the 
neck  as  a  personal  ornament.  When  we  consider  its 
symmetry  of  form,  the  contrast  of  colors  brought  out 
by  the  processes  of  grinding  and  polishing,  and  the  deli¬ 
cate  drilling  of  the  hole  through  a  material  so  liable  to 
fracture,  we  are  free  to  say  it  affords  an  exhibition  of 
the  lapidary's  skill  superior  to  anything  yet  furnished 
by  the  Stone  Age  of  either  continent. 

This  instrument  was  discovered  by  some  workmen 
who  were  digging  a  well  on  the  lands  of  Mr.  Lafayette 
Nealy,  in  the  valley  of  San  Joaquin.  It  was  imbedded 
in  the  gravel,  thirty  feet  below  the  surface,  and  was 
taken  possession  of  by  Mr.  Nealy,  who  transferred  it  to 
Mr.  Shipman. 

Professor  Whitney,  to  whom  I  rvrote,  suggesting  tlie 
propriety  of  examining  into  the  matter,  replied,  that  it 


56 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


was  not  necessary  to  investigate  that  particular  locality ; 
that  elephant  and  mastodon  hones  were  found  all  over 
the  State,  at  the  surface  and  at  the  depth  of  a  hundred 
feet  or  more,  in  the  Post-pliocene  ;  and  that  the  occur¬ 
rence  of  artificial  implements,  in  this  connection  was 
very  common,  and  concluded  by  saying :  “  The  ques¬ 
tion  to  be  investigated  is,  whether  the  works  of  man 
and  his  bones  are  older  than  the  Post-pliocene  ?”  He 
stated,  further,  that  he  had  two  or  three  similar  imple¬ 
ments,  and  that  they  were  generally  regarded  as  sinkers 
for  use  in  fishing. 

Mr.  W.  P.  Blake  exhibited  at  the  Paris  Exposition, 
several  flint  implements  which  were  found  in  the  aurif¬ 
erous  gravel  of  California. 

Ancient  haslcet-work  from  Petit  Anse  Island,  Ver¬ 
milion  Bay,  Louisiana. — The  first  scientific  notice  of 
the  occurrence  of  human  remains  in  connection  with 
those  of  extinct  mammalia  at  this  point,  was  given  by 
Professor  Henry,  on  the  verbal  statements  of  T.  F. 
Cleu,  Esq.,  who  contributed  a  specimen  of  ancient 
basket-work  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution.* 

“  Petit  Anse  Island  is  the  locality  of  the  remarkable 
mine  of  rock  salt,  discovered  during  the  late  Rebellion, 
from  which,  for  a  considerable  time,  the  Southern  States 
derived  a  great  part  of  their  supply  of  this  article.  The 
salt  is  almost  chemically  pure,  and  apparently  inex¬ 
haustible  in  quantity,  occurring  in  every  part  of  the 
island  (which  is  about  5000  acres  in  extent),  at  a  depth 
below  the  surface  of  the  soil  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet. 

“  The  fragment  of  matting  was  found  near  the  sur¬ 
face  of  the  salt,  and  about  two  feet  above  it  were 
remains  of  tusks  and  bones  of  a  fossil  elephant.  The 

*  This  specimen  was  figured  by  me  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Chicago 
Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  i.  part  ii. 


RELICS  AT  PETIT  ANSE. 


57 


peculiar  interest  in  regard  to  the  specimen  is  in  its  oc¬ 
currence,  in  situ,  two  feet  below  the  elephant  remains, 
and  about  fourteen  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  soil; 
thus  showing  the  existence  of  man  on  the  island  prior 
to  the  deposit  in  the  soil  of  the  fossil  elephant.  The 
material  consists  of  the  outer  bark  of  the  common 
southern  cane  (^Arundinaria  macrosperma),  and  has 
been  preserved  for  so  long  a  period,  both  by  its  silici- 
ous  character  and  the  strongly  saline  condition  of  the 
soil.” 

In  1867,  this  locality  was  examined  by  Professor  E. 
W.  Hilgard  and  Dr.  E.  Fontaine,  Secretary  of  the  New 
Orleans  Academy  of  Sciences.  The  latter  states,  that 
at  the  depth  of  twelve  feet  below  the  surface  and  im¬ 
mediately  overlying  the  salt-rock,  incredible  quanti¬ 
ties  of  pottery  were  thrown  out  of  the  pits  by  miners, 
mingled  with  fragments  of  the  bones  of  the  elephant 
and  other  huge  extinct  quadrupeds.  “  The  animals 
seem  to  have  been  ‘  bogged,’  and  perished  in  the  miry 
clay  above  the  salt.  .  .  .  The  aborigines  used  the  rock 
salt ;  and  there  seems  to  have  been  immense  quantities 
of  it  required  for  their  various  purposes,  from  the 
heaps  of  the  fragments  of  baskets  and  clay  vessels  im¬ 
bedded  in  the  valley;”  but  Dr.  Fontaine  maintains 
that  none  of  these  remains,  human  and  quadrupedal, 
can  claim  a  high  antiquity,  for  all  the  formations  of  the 
island  are  Quaternary,  belonging  to  the  “Bluff”  for¬ 
mation — the  remnant  of  the  ancient  valley  of  the  great 
river — and  overlying  the  “Orange”  sand.  I  may  re¬ 
mark  that  the  Orange  sand  spread  over  the  Southern 
country  is  regarded  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Drift,  and 
the  Bluff  formation  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Loess  ;  and 
that  if  these  human  remains  are  really  covered  by  the 
latter  deposit,  they  are  as  old  as  any  thoroughly- 


58 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


accredited  relics  observed  in  Europe.  The  statements 
of  Dr.  Fontaine  are  not  clear  upon  tliis  point.  On  one 
page  he  states  that  these  remains  are  found  in  “  allu¬ 
vium  washed  from  the  surrounding  hills,”  and  on 
another  page  he  gives  a  section  in  which  they  are  re¬ 
presented  as  surmounted  by  strata  of  loam,  clay,  sand, 
and  pebbles,  embracing  an  aggregate  thickness  of  about 
180  feet.  Upon  the  main  point  he  is  decided :  “  that 
they  are  so  mingled  that  we  can  only  infer  that  the  men 
and  animals  Avere  coeval.”* 

Professor  Hilgard  regards  the  deposit  in  which  these 
commingled  remains  are  found  as  a  mass  of  detritus 
Avashed  doAvn  from  the  surrounding  hills.  “  The  pot¬ 
tery,”  he  says,  “  at  some  points,  forms  veritable  strata, 
three  and  six  inches  thick  ;  ”  and  he  adds  in  a  note  that 
“  It  is  very  positively  stated  that  mastodon  bones  were 
found,  considerably  above  some  of  the  human  relics. 
In  a  detrital  mass,  hoAvever,  this  cannot  be  considered 
a  crucial  test.”f 

Leaving  out  the  question  whether  or  not  the  Loess 
covers  these  commingled  remains,  it  Avould  appear,  by 
the  statement  of  one  of  these  observers,  who  has  written 
a  work  to  refute  the  high  antiquity  of  man,  that  the  tAvo 
classes  of  remains  were  coeval ;  and  the  other  does  not 
gainsay  the  positive  statements  of  men  familiar  with  the 
modern  workings,  that  bones  of  the  mastodon  were 
found  considerably  above  some  of  the  human  relics.  It 
may  be  said,  however,  that  in  an  island,  whose  area  is 
less  than  eight  square  miles,  there  would  be  few  floods 
of  sufficient  power  to  transport  such  heavy  bones  as 

*  "  How  the  AVorld  was  Peopled,”  by  Rev.  Ed.  Fontaine,  pp.  67-g. 

f  “  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,” No.  248.  “On  the  Geol¬ 
ogy  of  Lower  Louisiana  and  the  Salt  Deposit  on  Petit  Anse  Island.”  By 
E.  W.  Hilgard,  p.  14. 


THE  NATCHEZ  HUMAN  BONE. 


59 


the  tusks  and  molars  of  mastodons  to  any  considerable 
distance. 

Human  remains  in  the  Loess  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
— The  immediate  channel  of  the  Lower  Mississippi, 
throuo’hout  its  entire  course  from  Cairo  to  Natchez,  ac- 
cording  to  Humphreys  and  Abbot,  is  excavated  in  the 
Cretaceous  clays.  The  terraces  which  border  the  val¬ 
ley  near  the  Gulf  consist  of  Eocene  tertiary,  succeeded 
by  a  thin  stratum  of  sand  and  pebbles,  and  surmounted 
by  fifty  or  sixty  feet  of  yellowish  comminuted  loam, 
which  Sir  Charles  Lyell  was  the  first  to  point  out  as  the 
equivalent  of  the  Rhenish  Loess.  The  Tertiary  beds 
are  of  marine  origin,  while  those  of  the  Loess  are  of 
fresh-water,  and  contain  numerous  shells,  all  of  which 
are  of  terrestrial  origin,  now  living  and  common  to  the 
region,  together  with  the  remains  of  the  great  pachy¬ 
derms,  the  megalonyx,  tiger,  lion,  etc.  In  the  bottom 
of  one  of  the  ravines,  cut  through  this  deposit.  Dr. 
Dickeson,  of  Natchez,  many  years  ago,  found  the  pel¬ 
vic  bone  of  man,  os  innominatum.,  mingled  with  those 
of  extinct  animals.  The  question  is,  whether  both 
classes  of  remains  had  been  washed  from  the  same 
deposit. 

Sir  Charles  Lyell,  in  1846,  visited  that  region,  care¬ 
fully  studied  the  structure  of  the  bluff,  and  inspected 
the  bone  in  Dr.  Dickeson’s  collection.  “  It  appears,” 
he  remarks,  “  to  be  quite  in  the  same  state  of  preserva¬ 
tion,  and  even  of  the  same  black  color  as  the  other 
fossils,  and  was  believed  to  have  come,  like  them,  from 
a  depth  of  about  thirty  feet  from  the  surface. 

“In  my  ‘  Second  Visit  to  America’*  I  suggested  as  a 
possible  explanation  of  this  association  of  a  human  bone 
with  remains  of  a  mastodon  and  megalonyx,  that  the 

*  Vol.  ii,  p.  197. 


60 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


former  may  possibly  have  been  derived  from  the  vege¬ 
table  soil  at  the  top  of  the  cliff ;  whereas  the  remains 
of  extinct  mammalia  were  dislodged  from  a  lower  posi¬ 
tion,  and  both  may  have  fallen  into  the  same  heap  or 
talus  at  the  bottom  of  the  ravine.  The  pelvic  bone 
might,  I  conceived,  have  acquired  its  black  color  by 
having  lain  for  so  many  years  or  centuries  in  a  dark, 
superficial,  peat}^  soil,  common  in  that  region. 

No  doubt,  had  the  pelvic  bone  belonged  to  any  recent 
mammifer,  other  than  man,  such  a  theory  would  never 
have  been  resorted  to  ;  but  so  long  as  we  have  only  one 
isolated  case,  and  are  without  the  testimony  of  a  geol¬ 
ogist  who  was  present  to  behold  the  bone  when  still 
engaged  in  the  matrix,  and  to  extract  it  with  his  own 
hands,  it  is  allowable  to  suspend  our  judgment  as  to 
the  high  antiquity  of  the  fossil.”  * 

Dr.  Joseph  Leidy  arrives  at  substantially  the  same 
conclusions.  “  The  specimen,”  says  he,  “  with  its  re¬ 
puted  associates  (bones  of  the  megalonyx  and  mylodon) 
is  preserved  in  the  museum  of  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  and  all  present  the  same  ap¬ 
pearance  of  preservation  and  color.  They  are  not  pet¬ 
rified,  but  have  preserved  their  original  consistence  of 
composition,  with  little  change,  other  than  being  stained 
chocolate-brown,  from  ferruginous  infiltration. 

“  The  human  bone  consists  of  about  half  of  an  ilium, 
together  with  the  back  part  of  an  ischium  to  where  its 
tuber  begins  to  turn  forward  ;  the  ilium  is  broken  at  its 
border,  except  at  the  ischiatic  notch  and  about  an  inch 
and  a  half  of  the  crest  where  this  is  thickest  anteriorly. 
The  bone  is  mature,  and  exhibits  no  trace  of  epiphysial 
separation,  as  has  been  stated.  Placed  in  correspond¬ 
ence  with  an  ilium  of  recent  Man,  it  presents  no 

*  Antiquity  of  Man,”  p.  203. 


THE  NATCHEZ  HUMAN  BONE. 


61 


distinctive  character.  The  specimen  may  have  heen 
contemporary  with  the  remains  of  extinct  animals,  with 
which  it  is  said  to  have  been  found,  though  it  appears 
to  me  to  be  equally,  if  not  more  probable,  that  it  may 
have  fallen  into  the  formation  from  an  Indian  grave 
above,  at  a  comparatively  recent  date,  and  become 
stained,  like  the  true  fossils,  from  ferruginous  infiltra' 
tion.”* 

In  this  connection  I  would  introduce  the  testimony 
of  a  highly  competent  observer,  Professor  C.  G.  For- 
shey.  t  He  states : 

“I  examined  the  spot  where  the  bone  was  found  — 
in  Bernard’s  Bayou,  just  above  the  bridge,  on  the  Pine- 
ridge  road,  two  and  one-half  miles  from  Natchez.  The 
material  from  which  it  was  taken  was  a  dark  loam  in 
the  bottom  of  the  thirty-feet  bayou.  It  was  probably 
not  in  situ^  but  this  loam,  and  the  bone  too,  probably, 
had  caved  in  from  some  point  above,  and  had  been 
drifted  thither  from  fields  of  several  miles  square,  above 
the  road.  A  dozen  plantation  burial  places,  and  Indian 
mounds  and  camps  had  been  exposed  above  for  cen¬ 
turies  ;  and  in  recent  years,  since  inhabited  by  the 
whites  (for  a  hundred  years),  the  drains  had  cut  through 
the  surface  to  the  depth  of  twenty  and  even  forty  feet 
in  the  bluff  loam -beds.  The  probabilities  are  a  hundred 
to  one,  that  this  bone  was  not  of  the  Bluff  (mastodon) 
formation,  but  of  the  recent  era. 

“  The  mastodon  bones  and  all  others,  of  which  there 
were  many,  whelmed  in  the  floods  which  deposited  the 
bluffs,  were  all  rotten.  We  had  the  utmost  difficulty 
in  preserving  any  of  them — tusks  or  bones,  and  only 
succeeded  when  we  had  varnish  or  glue  at  hand  to  pro- 

*  “  Extinct  Mammalia  of  North  America,"  p.  365. 

f  ‘‘  MS.  Notes,”  communicated  to  the  Author. 


62 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  IHAN. 


tect  them.  No  human  bones  of  any  kind  were  ever 
found,  unless  this  pelvic  bone  be  an  exception.” 

Arrow-heads  in  connection  with  the  hones  of  the  masto¬ 
don. — The  late  Dr.  Koch,  of  St.  Louis,  who  disinterred, 
in  the  Osage  Valley  of  Missouri,  the  skeleton  of  the 
mastodon  which  now  forms  so  conspicuous  a  feature  in 
the  palaeontological  department  of  the  British  Museum, 
stated  that,  in  connection  therewith,  were  found  flint 
arrow-heads  and  remains  of  charcoal,  as  though  the 
aborigines  had  attacked  and  destroyed  the  animal  when 
mired.  This  statement,  at  the  time,  was  received  by 
the  scientiflc  world  with  a  sneer  of  contempt.  It  was 
my  fortune  to  be  thrown  in  company  with  Dr.  Koch 
for  several  days,  during  the  last  year  of  his  life,  and 
among  other  things  I  questioned  him  very  pointedly  as 
to  the  possibility  of  his  having  been  mistaken,  when  he 
assured  me  in  the  most  solemn  and  emphatic  manner, 
that  his  statement  was  true.  He  was  an  indefatigable 
collector,  and  few  men  in  this  country,  by  individual 
effort  alone,  have  been  more  successful  in  bringing  to 
light  so  many  of  the  skeletons  of  the  huge  animals  that 
roamed  over  the  land  or  swarmed  the  seas  of  past 
ages.  His  knowledge  in  many  branches  of  Natural 
History  was  considerable,  but  not  of  that  exact  charac¬ 
ter  to  bring  out  important  generalizations.  No  one  who 
knew  him  will  question  but  that  he  was  a  competent 
observer,  and  to  deny  the  accuracy  of  his  statement  is 
to  accuse  him  of  having  attempted  to  perpetrate  a 
scientiflc  fraud.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  the 
scientific  opinion  of  this  country  regarded  his  state¬ 
ments  in  about  the  same  light  as  the  French  geologists 
did  those  of  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  when  he  brought 
out  his  “  Antiquites  Celtiques,” — that  is  with  absolute 
distrust:  but  the  one  lived  to  see  the  truth  of  his  obser- 


MASTODON  BEDS. 


63 


vations  acknowledged  and  their  value  appreciated;  the 
other  died  with  a  cloud  hanging  over  his  reputation. 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  Dr.  Koch’s 
paper  communicated  to  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Sci¬ 
ences  : 

“  In  the  year  1839,  I  discovered  and  disinterred  in 
Gasconade  County,  Missouri,  at  a  spot  in  the  bottom  of 
the  Bourbeuse  River,  where  there  was  a  spring  distant 
about  four  hundred  yards  from  the  bank  of  the  river, 
the  remains  of  the  above-named  animals.  The  bones 
were  sufficiently  well  preserved  to  enable  me  to  decide 
positively  that  they  belonged  to  the  Mastodon  gigan- 
teus.  Some  remarkable  circumstances  were  connected 
with  the  discovery.  The  greater  portion  of  these  bones 
had  been  more  or  less  burned  by  fire.  The  fire  had 
extended  but  a  few  feet  beyond  the  space  occupied  by 
the  animal  before  its  destruction,  and  there  was  more 
than  sufficient  evidence  on  the  spot  that  the  fire  had 
not  been  an  accidental  one,  but  on  the  contrary,  that  it 
had  been  kindled  by  human  agency,  and  according  to 
all  appearance,  with  the  design  of  killing  the  huge  crea¬ 
ture  which  had  been  found  mired  in  the  mud  and  in  an 
entirely  li^pless  condition.  This  was  sufficiently  proven 
by  the  situation  in  which  I  found,  as  well  those  parts 
of  the  bones  untouched  by  the  fire,  as  those  which  were 
more  or  less  injured  by  it,  or  in  part  consumed  ;  for  I 
found  the  fore  and  hind  legs  of  the  animal  in  a  perpen¬ 
dicular  position  in  the  clay  with  the  toes  attached  to 
the  feet,  just  in  the  manner  in  which  they  were  when 
life  departed  from  the  body.  I  took  particular  care  in 
uncovering  these  bones,  to  ascertain  their  position  be¬ 
yond  any  doubt,  before  I  removed  any  part  of  them,  and 
it  appeared  during  the  whole  excavation,  fully  evident 
that,  at  the  time  when  the  animal  in  question  found  its 


64 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


untimel}''  end,  the  ground  in  which  it  had  been  mired, 
must  have  been  in  a  plastic  condition,  being  now  a 
greyish-colored  clay.  All  the  bones  which  had  not 
been  burned  by  the  fire  had  kept  their  original  position, 
standing  upright,  and  apparentl}^  quite  undisturbed  in 
the  clay,  whereas  those  portions  which  had  been  ex¬ 
tended  above  the  surface  had  been  partially  consumed 
by  the  fire,  and  the  surface  of  the  clay  was  covered,  as 
far  as  the  fire  had  extended,  by  a  layer  of  wood-ashes, 
mingled  with  larger  or  smaller  pieces  of  charred  wood 
and  burnt  bones,  together  with  bones  belonging  to  the 
spine,  ribs,  and  other  parts  of  the  body,  which  had  been 
more  or  less  injured  by  the  fire. 

“  The  fire  appeared  to  have  been  most  destructive 
around  the  head  of  the  animal.  Some  small  remains  of 
the  head  were  left  unconsumed,  but  enough  to  show 
that  they  belonged  to  the  mastodon.  There  were  also 
found,  mingled  with  these  ashes  and  bones,  and  partly 
protruding  out  of  them,  a  large  number  of  broken  pieces 
of  rock,  which  had  evidently  been  carried  thither  from 
the  shore  of  the  Bourbeuse  River,  to  be  hurled  at  the 
animal  by  his  destroyers,  for  the  above-mentioned  layer 
of  clay  was  entirely  void  even  of  the  smallest  pebbles ; 
whereas,  on  going  to  the  river  I  found  the  stratum  of 
clay  cropping  out  of  the  bank  and  resting  on  a  layer  of 
shelving  rocks  of  the  same  kind  as  the  fragments,  from 
which  place  it  Avas  evident  they  had  been  carried  to  the 
scene  of  action.  The  layers  of  ashes,  etc.,  varied  in 
thickness  from  two  to  six  inches,  from  which  it  may  be 
inferred  that  the  fire  had  been  kept  up  for  some  length 
of  time.  It  seemed  that  the  burning  of  the  victim  and 
the  hurling  of  rocks  at  it,  had  not  satisfied  the  destroy¬ 
ers,  for  I  found  also  among  the  ashes,  bones,  and  rocks, 
several  arrow-heads,  a  stone  spear-head,  and  some  stone 


IVIASTODON  BEDS. 


65 


axes,  which  were  taken  out  in  the  presenee  of  a  num¬ 
ber  of  witnesses,  consisting  of  the  people  of  the  neigh¬ 
borhood,  attracted  by  the  novelty  of  the  excavation. 
The  layer  of  ashes,  etc.,  was  covered  by  strata  of  allu¬ 
vial  deiDOsits,  consisting  of  clay,  sand,  and  soil,  from 
eight  to  nine  feet  thick,  forming  the  bottom  of  the 
Bourbeuse  in  general,  and  on  the  surface,  near  the 
centre  of  the  spot  on  which  the  animal  had  perished, 
was  situated  the  spring,  the  water  of  which  was  used 
for  domestic  purposes ;  and  it  was  in  digging  to  clear 
out  the  spring  that  the  existence  of  bones  there  had 
first  been  discovered  by  the  owner  of  the  land. 

“  It  was  about  one  year  after  this  excavation  that  I 
found  at  another  place,  in  Benton  County,  in  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  the  Pomme-de-Terre  River,  about  ten  miles 
above  its  junction  with  the  Osage  River,  several  stone 
arrow-heads,  mingled  with  the  bones  of  a  nearly  entire 
skeleton,  mentioned  above  as  the  3Iissourium.  This 
discovery  is  already  so  well  known  that  I  will  merely 
mention  the  circumstance  in  this  connection,  that  the 
two  arrow-heads  found  with  the  bones  were  in  such  a 
position  as  to  furnish  evidence  still  more  conclusive, 
lierhaps,  than  in  the  other  case,  of  their  being  of  equal 
if  not  older  date  than  the  bones  themselves,  for  besides 
that  they  were  found  in  a  layer  of  vegetable  mould, 
which  was  covered  twenty  feet  in  thickness  with  al¬ 
ternate  layers  of  sand,  clay,  and  gravel.  One  of  the 
arrow-heads  lay  underneath  the  thigh-bone  of  the  skele¬ 
ton,  the  bone  actually  resting  in  contact  iipon  it,  so 
that  it  could  not  have  been  brouiiht  thither  after  the 
deposit  of  the  bone,  a  fact  which  I  carefully  thought 
to  investigate. 

“  Tlie  layer  of  vegetable  mould  was  some  five  or  six 
feet  thick,  and  the  arrow-heads  and  bones  were  found 

E 


66 


THE  AHTIQUITY  OF  MAN, 


buried  in  it,  together  with  fragments  of  wood  and  roots 
and  logs  and  cones  of  cypress,  but  no  pebbles  were  ob¬ 
served  in  it.  Above  this  layer  of  mould  there  were  six 
undisturbed  layers  of  clay,  sand,  and  gravel,  viz :  three 
of  greyish  clay  and  three  of  pebbly  gravel  mixed  with 
coarse  sand,  in  all  twenty  feet  in  thickness,  and  a  for¬ 
est  of  old  trees  was  standing  on  the  surface  soil.  The 
bottom  is  still  subject  to  occasional  overflow,  in  very 
high  stages  of  water.”  *  , 


Section  of  the  Mastodon  Bed  on  the  Pomme-de-Terre  Branch 
OF  the  Osage  River,  Missouri. 

Feet.  Inches, 


Loam _ 

Gravel _ 

Yellow  clay 

Gravel _ 

Blue  clay... 

Gravel _ 

Peat-. _ 


3 

4 
3 
3 


6 

10 

10 

10 


i6  00 

Resting  on  loam,  which  contained  the  remains  of  the  mastodon. 


The  position  of  the  ground  would  indicate  that  it 
was  originally  an  erosion  in  the  pre-existing  surface, 
and  filled  with  fluviatile  deposits.  Several  springs  of  a 
brackish  sulphur  water  come  to  the  surface,  to  which 
the  animals  of  the  country  resorted,  and  the  area  is 
provincially  known  as  a  “  lick.”  This  lick  is  estimated 
to  have  yielded  not  less  than  eighty  distinct  skeletons. 

Stone-hatchet  (?)  in  the  Modified  Drift  of  Jersey  County,, 
Illinois.  —  Professor  Worthen,  the  Director  of  the  Geo¬ 
logical  Survey  of  Illinois,  in  his  detailed  report  of  Jersey 
County,  has  described  the  Loess  and  Modified  Drift  as 
filling  the  lateral  valleys  to  a  depth  varying  from  sixty 


*  “  Transactions  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Sciences,”  vol.  i,  p.  62.  1857. 


STONE -HATCHET  IN*  DRIFT. 


67 


to  one  hundred  feet,  and  the  Modified  Drift,  he  states, 
often  contains  hands  of  sandstone  and  conglomerate. 
“  One  of  the  most  satisfactory  natural  sections  observed 
in  the  county,  was  found  on  Otter  Creek,  on  the  lands 
of  Mr.  McAdams,  where  the  beds  had  been  cut  through 
by  the  waters  of  the  creek.  The  exposure  at  this 
locality  exhibited  about  twenty  feet  of  yellowish-brown 
clay  at  the  top,  below  which  was  seen  from  twenty  to 
thirty  feet  of  sand  and  gravel  with  boulders ;  and  this 
was  underlaid  by  about  fifteen  feet  of  blue  plastic  clay, 
extending  below  the  bed  of  the  creek.  Boulders  of 
granite,  sienite,  greenstone,  quartz-rock,  and  porphyry 
are  often  met  with.”* 

From  a  mass  of  these  cemented  pebbles  and  sand, 
which  had  become  detached  and  had  fallen  to  the  margin 
of  the  stream,  the  hatchet  was  procured  which  is  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  annexed  figure. 

Fig.  3  =  i. 


Stone-hatchet  (?j  from  the  Modified  Drift  of  Jersey  County,  Illinois. 

Mr.  William  McAdams,  who  forwarded  to  me  the 
specimen  and  had  described  the  mode  of  its  occurrence 

*  “  Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,”  vol.  iii,  p.  io6. 


68 


THE  Antiquity  op  man. 


before  the  Jersey  ville  Scientific  Association,  in  his  letter 
states  that  “  it  was  so  tightly  fastened  in  the  rock  that 
it  required  considerable  force  to  break  it  out.  The 
position  in  which  it  lay,  and  the  depth  to  which  it  was 
imbedded  in  the  rock  will  at  once  be  made  plain  by 
examining  the  relic.”  A  portion  of  the  cemented 
gravel  adhered  to  the  specimen  when  he  first  exhibited 
it  to  the  Association. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  geological  position 
in  which  this  specimen  was  found,  and  the  only  question 
is.  Can  it  be  of  human  workmanship  ?  The  material  is  a 
finely-crystallized  sienite,  and  under  a  magnifier  the 
three  minerals,  hornblende,  quartz  and  feldspar,  can  be 
recognized.  The  portion  which  projected  from  the 
matrix  has  been  so  long  exposed  to  atmospheric  agents 
as  to  present  a  nearly  uniform  surface,  except  along  the 
line  a,  which  appears  to  be  a  thin  leaf  of  more  durable 
material,  standing  slightly  out  from  the  general  ground  ; 
and  the  bold  ridge  6,  which  differs  in  no  respect  from 
the  mass  in  chemical  composition,  and  extends  obliquely 
around  the  whole  specimen.  I  can  conceive  that  if  the 
lower  part  had  been  imbedded  in  a  conglomerate  rock 
for  a  time,  the  upper  part  might  have  weathered  so  as 
to  leave  a  projection,  but  this  projection  is  equally 
jirominent  on  the  lower  side.  If  this  had  been  a  finished 
hatchet,  the  workman  would  not  have  left  the  ridge 
which  we  have  described,  as  it  would  have  interfered 
with  its  cutting  properties.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may 
be  claimed  that,  after  having  worked  out  the  head,  he 
undertook  to  flake  off  a  portion  to  form  the  edge,  but 
the  fracture  extended  too  deep,  and  the  work  was 
spoiled ;  and  the  conchoidal  nature  of  the  fracture  on 
one  side,  lends  plausibility  to  this  view. 

On  the  whole,  I  will  not  positively  assert  that  this 


PEE- HISTORIC  KEMAIXS  IN  WYOMING. 


69 


specimen  is  of  human  workmanship,*  hut  I  affirm  that 
if  it  had  been  recovered  from  a  ploughed  field,  I  should 
have  unhesitatingly  said  that  it  was  an  Indian  hatchet. 

Pre-historic  remains  in  Wyoming  and  Colorado. —  INIr. 
E.  L.  Berthoud  has  recently  described  in  the  Proceed¬ 
ings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Phila¬ 
delphia,*  the  evidences  of  man’s  workmanship  observed 
by  him  on  the  banks  of  Crow  Creek,  lat.  40°  N.,  long. 
104°  W.  While  investigating  the  bluffs  he  found  many 
beautiful  moss  agates,  and  numerous  flakes  of  stone 
implements,  mixed  in  Tertiary  gravel  and  seemingly 
coeval  with  it.  On  leaving  Crow  Creek,  he  states : 

“  I  obtained  a  complete  suite  of  stone  imjilements 
and  rude  fragments  which  occur  mixed  in  a  gravel  and 
sand  deposit  that  composes  the  summit  and  sides  of  the 
low  bluff  on  the  east  bank.  I  found  them  in  the  gravel, 
in  the  soil,  in  every  kind  of  position,  and  sometimes 
weather-beaten  or  stained  by  weather  and  rain.  The 
accompanying  gravel  is  composed  of  pebbles  of  quartzite, 
jasper,  agate,  granite,  mica-slate,  basalt,  with  a  few 
shells,  fossil  wood  or  wood-opal ;  while  in  the  low 
grounds  at  the  foot  of  the  bluffs,  ancient  fire-places, 
burnt  fragments  of  bone  and  wood  with  flint  and  agate 
chips  and  implements,  almost  distinct  from  those  on  the 
summit  of  the  low  hills  bordering  Crow  Creek,  are  ob¬ 
served.  So  much  is  this  the  case  that  the  two  seem  to 
point  to  a  distinct  era,  the  latter  presenting  some  pro¬ 
gress  and  refinement  even  in  stone  implements. 

“  The  evidences  of  the  oldest  and  rudest  do  not  even 
show  traces  of  fire  or  fire-places  ;  rough  implements, 
irregular  piles  of  pebbles  are  all  that  are  left  us  to  show 
and  identify  to  the  observer  the  obscure  seat  of  a  still 
more  obscure  barbarism. 


*  Part  i,  1872. 


70 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


“  Another  fact  puzzles  me,  that  whenever  on  C^che  la 
Poudre,  Big  Thompson  River,  Clear  Creek,  Crow  Creek, 
and  Platte  River,  we  find  evidences  of  pre-aboriginal  oc¬ 
cupation,  it  is  invariably  on  the  low  bluffs  bordering  these 
valleys,  and  in  a  Tertiary  gravel  deposit  ;  but  if  we  go 
back  into  the  higher  region  of  the  prairies,  they  almost 
disappear,  or  present  a  difference  in  form  or  material. 

“  The  shape,  the  location,  the  rude  barbarism  of  these 
first  attempts  of  art  irresistibly  lead  us  to  compare  them 
to  the  rude  tools  of  Abbeville  in  France,  or  the  imple¬ 
ments  of  Kent  in  England.  J  am  glad  to  be  able  to 
give  a  few  shells  from  this  place,  which  will  serve  to 
guide  us  in  determining  the  age  of  the  gravel  beds  of 
Crow  Creek. 

“We  are  fast  nearing  the  high  table-land  between 
South  Platte  River,  Crow  Creek,  and  Pole  Creek.  This 
is  a  dividing  ridge  capped  by  conglomerate  in  many 
places,  and  under  this  on  Low  Wet,  Little  Crow  Creek, 
etc.,  Miocene  beds  with  Oreodon,  Titanotherium,  and 
freali-water  turtles.  The  gravel  beds  of  Crow  Creek 
may  be  Quaternary  (?)  but  they  seem  made  up  from  the 
decomposed  capping  north  of  us,  and  at  Golden  City 
apparently  underlie  the  Newer  Tertiary  beds  capped 
with  basalt  (?).” 

Following  up  Crow  Creek  he  noticed  “  in  two  places 
in  the  steep  bluff  bordering  the  stream  the  burnt  stones 
and  black  carbonaceous  remains  of  old  fire  places,  from 
four  to  eight  feet  below  the  present  surface.” 

On  a  small  dry  affluent  of  Crow  Creek,  he  continues, 
“  I  found  at  the  foot  of  the  first  ridge  the  evidences  of 
the  deserted  site  of  an  ancient  village,  the  stone-heaps 
and  circles,  the  projecting  and  polished  boulders,  the 
stray  flint  tools  and  weapons,  the  multitudes  of  broken 
flakes  or  fragments  left  in  the  primeval  workshop  ;  while 


CONTEMPORARY  WITH  MEGATHERIUM. 


71 


all  around  dispersed  in  rude  circles,  the  boulders  of 
quartzite,  of  jaspery  rocks,  yellow,  red  or  grey,  nowhere 
else  in  situ,  speak  of  some  method  or  manner  of  industry, 
totally  unlike  our  modern  Indian  or  Mound-builder’s 
vestiges.” 

The  shells  referred  to  in  the  preceding  account,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Professor  Cope,  comprised  four  species,  and 
were  submitted  to  Mr.  T.  A.  Conrad,  who  pronounced 
one  of  them  to  be  a  Corhicula,  another  Rangia,  the  third 
not  determinable.  The  two  species  recognized  are 
estuary  shells  “certainly  not  later  than  Older  Pliocene, 
or  possibly  Miocene,  but  there  is  no  trace  of  Eocene." 

Pottery  in  connection  ivith  the  bones  of  the  Mega¬ 
therium. — Dr.  Holmes,  several  years  ago,  made  a  com¬ 
munication  to  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences,  *  in  which  he  described  the  occurrence  of  frag¬ 
ments  of  pottery  in  connection  with  the  bones  of  the 
mastodon  and  megatherium,  on  the  Ashley  River  of 
South  Carolina,  but  it  is  one  of  those  isolated  cases 
which  require  further  investigation  before  full  credence 
can  be  attached  to  it. 

I  have  thus  enumerated  all  the  instances  which  have 
been  recorded  in  the  United  States,  where  the  remains 
of  man  have  been  observed  in  deposits  which  entomb 
also  those  of  extinct  animals.  The  evidence,  it  must  be 
confessed,  rests  in  most  cases,  upon  the  testimony  of  a 
single  observer,  and  besides,  there  has  not  been  that 
recurrence  of  “  finds,”  in  the  same  deposit  (except  in 
the  gravel  beds  of  Colorado  and  Wyoming,  which  re¬ 
quire  further  investigation  to  command  an  unqualified 
belief),  as  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme  and  in  the  Euro¬ 
pean  caves,  which  is  so  conclusive  as  to  the  existence 
of  man  as  contemporary  with  the  great  pachyderms. 


*  “Proceedings,”  etc.,  July,  1859. 


72 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


Our  coluitiy  is  yet  new,  and  much  of  its  surface  has 
never  been  disturbed  by  the  labors  of  man.  It  is  only 
recently  that  attention  has  been  directed  to  these  in¬ 
vestigations,  and  those  who  are  the  most  ajit  to  make 
discoveries  in  this  branch  of  knowledge  —  day  laborers — 
are  the  least  apt  to  appreciate  their  value.  It  is  hardly 
to  be  expected  that  a  competent  observer  will  be  present 
at  the  precise  time  when  any  relic  of  the  past  is  disin¬ 
terred.  If  such  relic  pertain  to  a  horse  or  any  other 
quadruped,  we  take  the  statement  of  the  workmen  with 
absolute  trust ;  but  if  it  were  to  prove  of  human  origin, 
we  discredit  it.  I  have  in  my  possession  many  drawings 
of  relics  said  to  be  found  under  conditions  which  would 
indicate  a  very  high  antiquity,  but  to  describe  them 
would  add,  I  conceive,  nothing  to  the  strength  of  this 
argument.  With  the  evidence  before  us  that  both 
hemispheres  have  been  subjected  to  the  same  dynamic 
action,  and  peopled  in  the  northern  latitudes  by  the 
same  races  of  animals,  often  identical  in  species,  is  it 
not  philosophical  to  infer  that  man  also,  who  is  capable 
of  the  most  extended  migrations,  and  of  braving  every 
climate,  here  found  an  abode  in  times  primeval  ? 

Descending  to  a  period  more  recent,  but  still  remote 
as  compared  with  the  chronological  record,  we  have  re¬ 
ported  instances  of  man’s  existence  as  the  contemporary 
of  the  present  flora  and  fauna,  but  when  the  topo¬ 
graphical  features  of  the  country  were  somewhat  dif¬ 
ferent. 

Human  skeleton  found  at  New  Orleans. —  The  plain, 
according  to  Dr.  Dowler,  on  which  New  Orleans  is 
situated,  rises  only  nine  feet  above  the  sea,  and  exca¬ 
vations  are  often  made  below  the  level  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  In  these  excavations  successive  forests  of 
cypress  trees  have  been  passed  through.  In  excavating 


SKELETON  FOUND  AT  NEW  OIILEANS. 


73 


for  the  foundations  of  the  gas-works  in  that  city,  it  was 
necessary  to  cut  through  not  less  than  four  of  these 
buried  forests.  At  the  depth  of  sixteen  feet,  the  work¬ 
men  came  upon  burnt  wood  and  the  skeleton  of  a  man. 
It  was  beneath  the  roots  of  a  cypress  tree  of  the  fourth 
forest  level.  The  type  of  the  cranium  was  of  the 
aboriginal  American  race.* 

Dr.  Dowler  divides  the  history  of  the  delta  into  three 
epochs :  1,  That  of  the  grasses,  as  seen  in  the  lagoons 
of  the  sea-coast ;  2.  That  of  the  cypress  basins  ;  3,  That 
of  the  live-oak  platform.  Existing  types,  from  the 
Balize  to  the  highlands,  show  this  order  of  succession, 
and  all  geological  history  proves  that  a  very  considerable 
period  of  time  must  elapse  before  the  surface  of  the 
earth  becomes  fitted  for  the  reception  of  a  different 
kind  of  vegetation.  Cypress  trees  (  Taxodium  distichum')^ 
ten  feet  in  diameter,  and  whose  age  was  computed  at 
5,700  years,  were  found  in  the  lowest  forest  level,  be¬ 
neath  which  these  human  remains  reposed.  Dr.  Dowler 
gives  the  following  estimate  of  the  periods  of  time  which 
must  have  elapsed ; 

Epoch  of  the  aquatic  plants.. _ _ i,500  years. 

Epoch  of  the  cypress  basin,  in  which  he  assumes  only 

two  successive  growths _ 11,400 

Epoch  of  the  live-oak  platform . . 1,500 

Total - 14,400  I 

Connected  with  the  antiquity  of  these  remains,  is  the 
age  of  the  delta  with  regard  to  which  great  diversity  of 
opinion  prevails.  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  in  his  “  Travels  in 
North  America,”  has  undertaken  to  show  that  the  de¬ 
posits  forming  the  delta  and  alluvial  plain  of  the  Missis- 

*  “  Types  of  Mankind,"  p.  336. 

f  “  Tableau  of  New  Orleans."  1852. 


74 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


sippi  extend  over  an  area  of  30,000  square  miles,  and 
form  beds  in  some  parts,  several  hundred  feet  thick. 
“  The  lowest  estimate  of  the  time  required  would  lead 
us  to  assign  a  high  antiquity,  amounting  to  many  tens  of 
thousands  of  years  (probably  more  than  100,000)  to  the 
existing  delta.  Whether  all,  or  how  much  of  this  for¬ 
mation  may  belong  to  the  recent  period,  as  above  defined, 
I  cannot  pretend  to  decide.”* 

The  late  Professor  Hitchcock  estimated  that  “  the 
Mississippi  carries  forward  28,188,383,892  cubic  feet,  or 
one  cubic  mile  in  five  years  and  eighty-one  days.  The 
whole  delta  contains  2720  cubic  miles,  and  therefore,  at 
the  rate  above  indicated,  14,204  years  would  have  been 
requisite  to  form  it.”t 

Referring  to  Humphreys  and  Abbot’s  work  on  the 
physics  and  hydraulics  of  this  river,  we  find  that  many 
of  the  statements  of  previous  writers  with  regard  to  its 
regimen,  the  area  of  its  delta,  etc.,  have  been  erroneous. 
Regarding  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi  as  beginning 
where  it  first  sends  off  a  branch  to  the  sea,  it  may  be 
divided  into  four  parts  :  1,  The  Atchafalaya  basin  ;  2, 
The  Terre  Bonne  district;  3,  La  Fourche  district;  4, 
The  Lake  Pontchartrain  district.  The  combined  area 
is  12,300  square  miles;  or  if  we  regard  the  alluvial  tract 
betAveen  Cape  Girardeau  and  the  head  of  the  delta,  as 
above  given,  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  same,  the  area 
instead  of  being  30,000  square  miles,  is  only  19,450.  So, 
too,  the  thickness  of  the  alluvial  matter  has  been  greatly 
overstated.  It  is  but  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet,  on  the 
river  bank,  along  the  St.  Francis  Swamp ;  thirty-five 
feet,  along  the  Yazoo  Swamp ;  which  thickness  holds 

*  “  Antiquity  of  Man,”  p.  43. 

f  “  Smithsonian  Contributions,”  “  Surface  Geology,”  by  Edward 
Hitchcock,  p.  92. 


DELTA  OP  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


75 


as  far  down  as  Baton  Rouge ;  and  the  borings  of  the 
Artesian  well  at  New  Orleans  show  that  there  it  does 
not  extend  more  than  forty  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
gulf. 

The  mean  annual  discharge  of  sedimentary  matter 
equals  one  square  mile  of  deposit,  two  hundred  and 
forty-one  feet  in  depth.  Besides  the  amount  held  in 
suspension,  the  river  pushes  along  into  the  gulf  large 
quantities  of  earthy  matter.  No  exact  measurement  of 
the  amount  furnished  from  this  source  can  be  made, 
but  from  the  yearly  rate  of  progress  of  the  bars  in  the 
gulf,  it  is  estimated  that  it  would  cover  a  square  mile, 
twenty-seven  feet  deep. 

The  total  yearly  contributions,  then,  amount  to  a 
prism  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  feet  in  height  with 
a  base  of  one  square  mile.  “  To  determine  the  age  of 
the  delta  from  such  data,  the  extent  of  the  area  upon 
which  the  sedimentary  matter  is  deposited,  and  the 
depth  below  the  surface  of  the  former  bottom  of  the 
gulf  must  be  known.  Neither  has  been  ascertained 
with  sufficient  accuracy  to  make  the  computation  of 
any  value.”  * 

These  authors  infer  that  the  original  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  was  near  the  effiux  of  Bayou  Plaquemine, 
where  the  alluvial  soil  does  not  extend  much,  if  any,  be¬ 
low  the  level  of  the  gulf,  and  hence  that  its  prolonga¬ 
tion  has  been  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  If  it  be 
assumed  that  the  rate  of  progress  has  been  uniform  to 
the  present  day,  the  number  of  years  since  the  river 
began  to  advance  into  the  gulf  can  be  computed.  The 
present  rate  of  progress  of  the  mouth  may  be  obtained 
by  a  careful  comparison  of  the  progress  of  all  the  mouths 
of  the  river,  as  shown  by  the  maps  of  Captain  Talcott, 

*  “  Physics  and  Hydraulics  of  the  Mississippi,'’  p.  150,  et  passvn. 


76 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


U.  S.  Engineer,  1838,  and  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey 
in  1851,  the  only  maps  which  admit  of  such  comparison. 
They  give  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet  for  the  mean 
yearly  advance  of  all  the  passes,  which  represents  cor¬ 
rectly  the  advance  of  the  river,  because  in  the  changes 
which  take  place,  each  pass  in  succession  may  become 
the  main  pass.  Adopting  this  rate  of  progress,  4,400 
years  have  elapsed  since  the  river  began  to  advance 
into  the  gulf.* 

Thus,  then,  with  these  c.arefully  observed  computa¬ 
tions  before  us,  we  are  not  prepared  to  accept  the  high 
antiquity  assigned  by  Dr.  Dowler  to  the  human  remains 
found  beneath  the  surface  at  New  Orleans.  What  he 
regards  as  four  buried  forests,  which  once  flourished 
on  the  spot,  may  be  nothing  more  than  drift-wood 
brought  down  by  the  river  in  former  times,  which  be¬ 
came  embedded  in  the  silts  and  sediments  deposited 
on  what  was  then  the  floor  of  the  gulf.f 

Human  remains,  in  a  calcareous  conglomerate^  in  Florida. 
—  In  Nott  and  Gliddon’s  “  Types  of  Mankind,”}  it  is 
stated,  on  the  authority  of  Agassiz,  that  Count  Pour- 
tales  found  the  jaws  and  teeth,  and  some  bones  of  the 
foot,  belonging  to  man,  in  a  calcareous  conglomerate 
forming  part  of  a  series  of  coral  reefs,  which  were  sup¬ 
posed  by  that  distinguished  naturalist,  in  accordance 
with  his  mode  of  estimating  the  rate  of  growth  of  those 
reefs,  to  be  about  10,000  years  old.  This  statement, 
which  has  been  widely  copied,  is  essentially  erroneous. 

*  Ibidem,  p.  435. 

f  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  seen  the  remarks  of  Professor 
C.  G.  Forshey,  made  before  the  New  Orleans  Academy  of  Sciences,  in 
which  he  discredits  the  observations  of  Humphreys  and  Abbot,  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  river  bed,  the  meagre  thickness  of  the  alluvium,  and  the  in¬ 
sufficient  age  of  the  delta. 

t  Page  352. 


KELICS  ESr  OHIO  VALLEY. 


77 


Count  Pourtales  states :  “■  The  human  jaws  and  other 
bones,  found  by  myself  in  Florida,  in  1848,  were  not  in 
a  coral  formation,  but  in  a  fresh-water  sandstone,  on 
the  shore  of  Lake  Monroe,  associated  with  fresh-water 
shells  of  species  still  living  in  the  lake  (^Paludma, 
Ampullaria,  etc.')-  No  date  can  be  assigned  to  the  for¬ 
mation  of  that  deposit,  at  least  from  present  observa¬ 
tion.”  * 

Ancient  hearths  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  —  Colonel  Whit¬ 
tlesey  thus  states :  “  In  1838,  in  examining  the  Iluviatile 
deposits  on  the  Ohio  River,  at  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  I 
saw  in  two  places,  in  the  east  part  of  the  town,  the 
remains  of  very  ancient  fires.  At  low  water,  and  thence 
up  to  a  height  of  twelve  and  fifteen  feet,  is  a  bed  of 
sand  and  transported  gravel,  containing  pebbles  of 
quartz,  granite,  sandstone,  and  limestone,  derived  partly 
from  the  adjacent  Carlioniferous  and  Devonian  rocks, 
and  partly  from  the  Northern  Drift,  the  upper  part 
much  the  coarsest.  On  this  is  a  layer  of  blue  quick¬ 
sand,  from  one  to  five  feet  thick,  in  which  is  a  timber 
bed,  including  large  numbers  of  the  trunks,  branches, 
stumps,  and  leaves  of  trees,  such  as  are  now  growing 
on  the  Ohio,  principally  birch,  black-ash,  oak  and 
hickory.  Over  the  dirt  bed  is  the  usually  loamy  yellow 
clay  of  the  valley,  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  thick,  on  which 
are  very  extensive  works  of  the  IMound-builders.  In 
and  near  the  bottom  of  this  undisturbed  homogenous 
river-loam,  I  saw  two  places  where  fires  had  been  built 
on  a  circular  collection  of  small  stones,  a  jiart  of  which 
were  then  embedded  in  the  bank.  The  stones  were 
colored  red  by  heat,  and  among  them  Avas  charcoal 
covered  by  clay,  of  which  I  haA^e  specimens.  Around 
and  near  to  the  fire-beds,  Avere  what  appeared  to  be  the 

*  ‘‘American  Naturalist,”  vol.  ii,  p.  434.  1868. 


78 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OP  MAN. 


exterior  membrane-like  covering  of  river  shells  (  Unios), 
but  no  shells.  It  was  several  rods  from  one  of  the 
charcoal  beds  to  the  other,  and  they  were  not  on  pre¬ 
cisely  the  same  level.  They  were  from  eighteen  to 
twenty  feet  above  low  water,  and  about  fifteen  feet 
below  the  surface.”* 

Marine  shells  in  the  Alluvium  of  Ohio.  —  Francis  Cleve¬ 
land,  C.  E.,  who,  in  1828,  had  charge  of  the  excavation 
known  as  the  “  deep  cut”  on  the  Ohio  Canal,  informed 
Colonel  Whittlesey  that,  at  the  depth  of  twenty-five 
feet  in  the  Alluvium,  several  shells  belonging  to  the 
species  Busycon  perversum  were  taken  out. 

The  works  of  the  Mound-builders.  —  Descending  to 
times  still  more  recent,  and  falling  probably  within  the 
Historic  Period,  we  find  the  evidences  of  man’s  exist¬ 
ence  vastly  multiplied,  and  to  such  an  extent  that  we 
can  form  reasonable  conjectures  as  to  his  advancement 
in  civilization,  his  mode  of  life,  and  his  commercial 
intercourse.  I  refer  to  the  Mound-builders.  The  sur¬ 
face  of  the  country,  during  their  occupancy  of  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi  Valley,  presented  the  same  configuration  which 
we  now  behold,  nor  were  the  conditions  of  climate 
essentially  different.  The  long  lines  of  earthworks 
stretching  for  miles,  and  often  enclosing  large  areas  of 
alluvial  soil,  are  more  recent,  by  ages,  than  the  terraces 
which  are  often  found  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  The 
nature  and  extent  of  their  works  will  be  described  in 
subsequent  chapters. 

*  “On  the  Antiquity  of  Man  in  the  United  States,”  by  Col.  Charles 
Whittlesey.  Transactions  of  American  Association  for  Advancement  of 
Science,  Chicago  Meeting,  p.  283. 


PARALLELISM  AS  TO  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF 
MAN  IN  THE  TWO  HEMISPHERES. 


Assuming  as  authentic  the  more  obscure  traces  of 
human  art  and  human  remains  found  in  the  United 
States,  I  submit  the  following  classification  of  the  respec¬ 
tive  deposits : 

MIOCENE  (?) 


Europe. 

Flints  in  Calcaire  de  Beauce,  Pont- 
levoy,  with  Acerotherium,  Mas¬ 
todon,  Dinotherium,  Rhinoce¬ 
ros. 

Flint  flake  in  the  beds  of  Aurillac, 
Auvergne,  with  the  remains  of 
Dinotherimn  giganteum,  and 
Machairodus  latidens. 

Hacked  bones  at  Pouance,  Maine 
et  Loire,  with  Halitherium  fos- 
sile.  (All  these  instances  require 
further  authentication.) 


North  America. 

Flint  flakes,  etc.,  in  the  gravel  beds 
of  Colorado  and  Wyoming,  with 
shells  belonging  to  the  genera 
Corbicula  Rangia.  (Further 
authentication  required.) 


PLIOCENE  (?) 

Hacked  bones  in  the  beds  of  St.  Human  skull  found  in  Calaveras 
Prest,  associated  with  Elephas  County,  California. 
meridioftalis,  Rhuioceros  leptor- 
hinus,  Hippopotamus  major. 

(Evidence  not  conclusive.) 

DRIFT  (closing  period). 


Epoch  of  the  Extinct  Animals. — 
Terrace  gravels  of  the  Somme, 
Seine,  in  France  ;  Surrey,  Kent, 
and  Middlesex,  in  England,  with 
flint  implements,  etc.  The  caves 
of  France,  Belgium,  England, 
and  Wales  (in  part)  with  flint 
implements. 

Epoch  of  the  Migrated  Existing 
Animals  (Reindeer  Period). — 
Dordogne  caves,  France.  Bel¬ 
gium  caves  (in  part).  Loess  of 
the  Rhine,  not  recognized  in 
Great  Britain.  Skeletons,  im¬ 
proved  flint  implements,  etc., 
found  with  the  remains  of  living 
and  extinct  mammals. 


Plummet  from  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley. 

Stone  hatchet  (?)  found  in  Jersey 
County,  Illinois. 

Loess  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
Natchez,  enclosing  os  innomin- 
atum  of  man,  with  bones  of  ex¬ 
tinct  mammals. 

Flint  implementsfound  in  the  lacus¬ 
trine  deposit  in  the  Osage  Valley 
and  Bourbeuse  Valley,  of  Mis¬ 
souri,  in  connection  with  the 
bones  of  the  mastodon. 


79 


80 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


CONTEMPOEANEOUS  TEKRESTRIAL  ANIMALS  OP  THE 
TWO  CONTINENTS: 


Europe. 

Urstts  spelaus  (cave-bear). 

*  U.  arctos  ?  (brown  bear). 

*Meles  taxus  (badger). 

*Putorius  vulgaris  (polecat). 
Felis  spelma  (cave-lion). 

Hycma  spelcea  (cave-hyena). 
*Canis  lupus  (wolf). 

Elepkas  pri)nigenitts{xs\s.ramot\i). 
E.  anliqtius  (elephant). 
Rhinoceros  tichorhinus  (Siberian 
rhinoceros). 

R.  hemitcechus. 

*Ei]UUs  caballus  (horse). 

*E.  asijius  (ass). 

*Cervus  elaphus  (stag). 

*C.  capreohts  (roebuck). 

*C.  tarandus  (reindeer). 
Megaceros  hibernicus  (great  Irish 
stag). 

*Bison  europoeus  (aurochs). 
*Ovibos  moschatus  (musk-ox). 
Hippopotamus  major,  etc. 


North  America. 

Ursus  americanus  (bear). 

U.  amplidens. 

Felis  atrox  (great  lion). 
Trucifelis  faialis  (great  tiger). 
Canis  hidianaensis  (wolf). 

C.  occidentalis. 

*C.  latrans. 

Elephas  primige7this  (great 
Siberian  elephant). 

E.  atnericanus  (mammoth  of 
United  State.s). 

Mastodoit  a?nericanus  syn.  gigan- 
teus  (great  mastodon). 

Equus  fossilis  (horse). 

E.  major. 

E.  f rat  emus. 

E.  excelsus. 

E.  paeijictts. 

E.  parvulus  (Pliocene  ?). 
Hipperion  venustuni. 

*Cervus  virginianus  (Virginian 
deer). 

*(7.  canadensis  (elk). 
tarandus  (reindeer). 

C.  america/ztis  (approaching  the 
great  Irish  stag). 

*Bison  americanus  (buffalo). 

B.  priscus. 

B.  latifrons. 

*Ovibos  moschatus  (musk-ox). 

O.  bombifrons. 

0.  cavifrons. 

Platygonus  compressus  (Suidas). 
Dicotyles  leziis  (Suidse). 

D.  tiasutus. 

*  Castor  canadezisis  (beaver). 
Castoroides  ohioensis  (great 
beaver). 

Megatherium  mirabilc. 
Megalonyx  yejff'ersozii. 

M.  dissimilis. 

M.  validus. 

Ereptodon  priscus. 

Mylodon  Harlani. 

Tapirus  azziericanus  (tapir). 

T.  Haysii. 


*  Those  thus  indicated  are  still  existing. 


FOSSIL  ELEPHANT. 


81 


RECENT. 

Works  of  art,  associated  with  the  remains  of  Ma7nnialia  wild  and  domes¬ 
ticated,  and  for  the  most  part  common  to  the  region. 


Epoch  of  the  Domesticated  Existing 
A  nimals. 

Shell-banks  of  Denmark  (kitchen 
middens). 

Stone  implements  in  Danish  (Scotch 
fir)  peat  mosses. 

Lacustrine  constructions  in  Swit¬ 
zerland  (in  part)  of  the  Stone 
Age. 

Clyde  marine  strata  with  canoes. 

Human  bones  and  works  of  art  in 
the  peat  of  the  Somme  Valley. 

‘  Crannoges  ’  of  Ireland. 

Works  of  art  in  the  Nile  mud. 


Human  skeleton  in  the  delta  of  the 
Mississippi  ? 

Ancient  hearths  in  the  alluvium  of 
Ohio  Valley.  Shells  of  the 
Busycon  in  the  alluvium. 

Shell  accumulations  on  the  Gulf 
coast  (in  part). 


MORE  RECENT. 


Bronze  Epoch.  —  Bronze  imple¬ 
ments  of  Switzerland,  Denmark, 
Ireland,  and  England. 


Works  of  the  Mound-builders  of 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Val¬ 
leys. 

Shell  accumulations,  marine  and 
fresh-water,  on  the  Gulf  Coast 
and  in  the  Interior  (in  part). 


To  the  student  of  ethnology  the  bare  catalogue  above 
given  of  mammals  that  lived  in  the  distant  age  of  the 
Drift,  as  the  contemporaries  of  man,  would  be  unsatis¬ 
factory.  The  great  Siberian  elephant  {E.  primig emus')., 
with  his  compound  covering  of  wool  and  hair  which 
fitted  him  to  endure  an  Arctic  climate,  is  supposed  to 
have  appeared  in  Asia  at  the  close  of  the  Tertiary 
Period,  whence  he  passed  over  to  Europe  during  the 
Quaternary  Period,  appearing  in  England  and  France, 
and  ranging  as  far  south  as  Central  Italy  and  the 
P3a'enees  ;  while  to  the  north,  his  carcass  is  often  found 
encased  in  ice-cliffs,  almost  entire.  He  survived  into 
the  Reindeer  Epoch. 

“  The  preservation,”  says  Sir  Roderick  Murchison, 
“  of  so  many  entire  animals  of  this  size  in  such  high 

b' 


82 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


northern  latitudes,  induces  me  to  modify  the  views  I 
formerly  entertained,*  and  to  suggest  that  all  Northern 
Siberia,  which  is  now  so  glacial,  was,  during  the  age  in 
which  the  mammoth  lived,  a  continent  covered  with  a 

Fig.  4. 


The  Siberian  Elephant  ( E.  primigenhis)  and  Mastodon  ( M .  gigantens ) 

restored. 

vegetation  adequate  to  support  vast  herds  of  these  huge 
animals,  even  up  to  75°  N.  latitude.  This  view  is, 
indeed,  sustained  by  the  researches  which  have  been 
made  from  north  to  south,  for  when  we  travel  south¬ 
wards  we  find  the  mammoth  remains  becoming  much 
scarcer,  and  instead  of  whole  animals,  we  meet  with 
their  broken  and  disjointed  bones  only,  as  if  they  had 

*  Vide  “  Russia  in  Europe,”  etc.,  vol.  i,  p.  492,  et,  seq. 


FOSSIL  ELEPHANT. 


83 


been  transported  from  the  north.  Having  satisfied 
myself  by  wide  personal  examination  that  other  drifted 
materials  which  proceed  from  north  to  south,  cover 
large  regions  of  European  Russia  and  Northern  Germany 
—  in  places  superseded  by  those  great  erratic  blocks 
which  were  conveyed  in  former  icebergs  —  and  seeing 
in  our  own  islands  similar  evidences,  I  now  infer  that 
the  chief  marshes  of  such  marine  drift  were  deposited 
whilst  a  prodigious  change  of  climate  was  being  effected 
over  the  northern  hemisphere,  large  i^ortions  of  which, 
like  Northern  Siberia,  antecedent  to  such  perturbations, 
,  were  low  lands,  indented  by  marine  estuaries,  whilst 
other  countries,  like  Russia  in  Europe,  and  Northern 
Germany,  were  then  entirely  under  sea.  The  simple 
fact  alone  of  the  absence  of  all  northern  drift,  or  of  any 
erratic  blocks  over  all  Siberia,  is,  indeed,  in  direct  con¬ 
trast  to  the  state  of  the  surface  of  European  Russia, 
Northern  Germany,  and  the  British  Islands,  and  shows 
us  that  when  the  great  and  possibly  sudden  changes  of 
climate  occurred,  by  which  the  mammoths  were  des¬ 
troyed  and  entombed  in  situ,  Northern  Siberia  was 
largely  inhabited  by  those  animals.”* 

I  am  not  aware  of  the  bones  of  the  fossil  elephant 
having  been  found  in  Europe,  except  in  a  single  instance 
in  Scotland,  given  by  Lyell,  in  the  old  Glacial  Drift,  and 
it  is  not  until  towards  the  close  of  that  period,  the  Ter¬ 
race  Epoch,  that  they  are  abundantly  met  with,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  relics  of  man. 

The  remains  of  the  Elephas  primigenius  occur  on  this 
continent  under  similar  geological  conditions.  He 
probably  appeared  on  the  Pacific  Coast  during  the 
closing  period  of  the  Tertiary,  for  there,  as  in  Siberia, 
is  wanting  all  evidences  of  a  great  Glacial  Epoch. 

*  •'  Address  before  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,”  1866. 


84 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


At  Eschscholtz  Ba}^,  Alaska,  his  remains,  nearly  entire, 
are  found  in  the  frozen  mud-cliffs  ;  and  all  the  streams 
of  that  territory,  as  I  am  informed  by  Mr.  Dali,  are 
strewn  with  fossil  ivory. 

The  Elephas  aviericanus,  whose  remains  appear  in 
our  river-gravels,  and  comminuted  beds  known  as  Loess, 
is  closely  allied  to  the  E.  primigenius^  and  such  differ¬ 
ences  as  our  comparative  anatomists  have  been  able  to 
detect,  are  probably  due  to  variation,  resulting  from 
long  isolation  under  modified  conditions  of  soil  and 
climate. 

The  Mastodon  of  the  United  States  (ilfi  giganteus') — 
another  pachyderm  which  rivalled  the  elephant  in  size, 
but  surpassed  him  in  the  massiveness  of  his  frame  —  ap¬ 
pears  to  have  had,  during  the  Post-pliocene  Epoch,  no 
representative  on  the  European  continent.  According 
to  our  existing  knowledge,  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
ranged  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley,  but  he  can 
be  traced  south  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  He  evidently 
was  fitted  for  a  warmer  climate,  but  not  a  tropical  one, 
for  the  contents  of  his  stomach  which  have  been  found 
well  preserved,  would  indicate  that  he  browsed  on  the 
branches  of  the  fir,  and  other  resinous  trees.  It  is 
probable,  too,  as  I  long  ago  pointed  out,*  that  the  mas¬ 
todon  appeared  subsequent  to  the  great  elephant  and 
survived  his  extinction.  No  remains  of  the  mastodon 
have  been  found  in  deposits  older  than  the  Loess,  while 
those  of  the  elephant  are  characteristic  of  the  Terrace 
Epoch.  The  peat  swamps  are  the  great  sepulchres  of 
the  former,  as  though  the  animal,  while  living,  had  be¬ 
come  mired,  and  was  thus  left  to  perish  on  the  spot,  and 
the  antiseptic  properties  of  the  peat  have  preserved  to 

*  "  T  ransactions  American  Association  for  Advancement  of  Science.’ 
Albany  Meeting,  1856 


RANGE  OF  MUSK-OX. 


85 


us  many  entire  skeletons,  with  which  our  museums  are 
enriched.  The  remains  of  the  elephant,  on  the  other 
hand,  have  been  mainly  found  in  river-gravels,  as  dis¬ 
jecta  membra^  floated  from  a  distance  by  currents  of 
water  more  or  less  turbulent ;  and  the  result  is,  that 
not  a  museum  in  the  United  States  affords  the  materials 
for  reconstructing  the  head  of  this  great  pachyderm. 

While  thus,  then,  the  anatomy  of  the  mastodon,  in  its 
minutest  parts,  is  thoroughly  understood,  so  far  as  re¬ 
lates  to  the  fossil  elephant  we  are  eompelled  to  base 
our  determinations  almost  exclusively  on  the  tusks  and 
teeth.  A  perfect  cranium  would  determine  how  far  the 
E.  frimigenius  of  Europe  deviated  from  the  E.  ameri- 
canus  of  this  eontinent. 

The  Rhinoceros  tichorhinus,  the  Siberian  rhinoceros, 
was  closely  assoeiated  in  his  range  with  the  great  Si¬ 
berian  elephant,  and  like  him,  had  a  eompound  covering 
of  wool  and  hair.  While  three  species  of  the  rhinoceros 
inhabited  Europe  during  the  Quaternary  Period,  we 
find  no  representative  of  the  genus  in  the  United  States, 
but  going  back  to  the  Tertiary  Period  we  find  that  there 
existed  two  forms  of  this  mammal,  one  of  which,  R. 
occidentalis  Leidy,  was  about  three-fourths  as  large  as 
the  East  Indian  species,  and  the  other,  R.  nebrascensis 
Leidy,  was  half  as  large. 

The  Miisk-ox,  or  rather  the  musk-sheep,  for  he  belongs 
to  the  Caprid(L\  lived  in  Central  Europe  simultaneously 
with  the  cave-dwellers,  his  remains  having  been  found 
in  the  older  alluvium  of  the  Oise  Valley  of  France,  and 
in  a  similar  deposit  in  the  Valley  of  Avon,  England. 
He  is  an  animal  whose  range  is  restricted  to  the  Polar 
region,  and  the  presence  of  his  remains  in  Central 
Europe  is  justly  cited  as  conclusive  proof,  that  since 
the  advent  of  man,  the  climate  of  that  I'egion  has  under- 


86 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


gone  marked  modifications  for  the  better.  At  that 
period  it  must  have  been  hyperborean  almost  to  the 
northern  border  of  the  Mediterranean,  where  now 
flourish  the  olive  and  the  vine. 

The  musk-ox  has  disappeared  from  Europe,  and  is 
now  found  only  in  the  coldest  parts  of  North  America, 
seldom  wandering  south  of  the  parallel  68,  or  further 
east  than  Melville  Island.  Dr.  Kane  observed  their 
tracks  and  skeletons  in  the  vicinity  of  Rensselaer  Har¬ 
bor,  nearly  as  far  north  as  man  has  been  able  to  pene¬ 
trate,  and  he  conjectured  that  their  range  towards  the 
pole  was  greater  even  than  that  of  the  reindeer.* 

According  to  Sir  John  Richardson,  the  musk-ox  does 
not  exist  in  Greenland  or  Labrador,  nor  in  the  chain  of 
islands  extending  north  from  the  peninsula  along  the 
west  side  of  Davis  Straits,  but  inhabits  the  hilly 
“  Barren  Grounds,”  between  the  Welcome  and  Copper 
Mountains,  from  the  63d  or  the  64th  parallels  to  the  Arc¬ 
tic  Sea,  and  northward  to  Parry’s  Islands,  or  as  far  as 
European  research  has  yet  extended.  Herds  of  these 
animals  travel  from  place  to  place  in  search  of  pasture, 
but  do  not  penetrate  deep  into  wooded  districts,  and 
are  able  to  procure  food,  in  winter,  on  the  steep  sides  of 
hills  which  are  laid  bare  by  winds,  and  up  which  they 
climb  with  an  agility  which  their  massive  aspect  would 
lead  one,  ignorant  of  their  habits,  to  suppose  them  to 
be  totally  incapable  of.  “  In  structure,”  continues  Sir 
John,  “  they  differ  from  the  domestic  ox  in  the  short¬ 
ness  and  strength  of  the  bones  of  the  neck,  and  the 
length  of  the  dorsal  processes  which  support  the  pon¬ 
derous  head.  The  swelling  bases  of  the  horns  spread 
over  the  foreheads  of  both  sexes,  but  are  most  largely 
developed  in  the  old  males.  The  musk-ox  has  also  the 

*“  Arctic  Explorations,”  vol.  i,  p.  8i,  note. 


GREAT  FOSSIL  MUSK-OX. 


87 


peculiarity  of  the  want  of  a  tail ;  the  caudal  vertebrae, 
only  six  in  number,  being  very  flat  and  nearly  as  short, 
in  reference  to  the  pelvis,  as  in  the  human  species,  the 
extreme  one  ending  with  the  tuberosities  of  the  ischium. 
A  tail  is  not  needed  by  this  animal,  as  in  its  elevated 
summer  haunts,  musquitoes  and  other  winged  pests  are 
comparatively  few,  whilst  its  close,  woolly  and  shaggy 
hair  furnishes  its  body  with  sufficient  protection  from 
their  assaults.’’  * 

The  only  evidence,  to  my  knowledge,  of  the  occur¬ 
rence  of  the  remains  of  the  musk-ox  in  a  fossil  state,  on 
this  continent,  outside  of  his  present  range,  is  the  brief 
statement  of  Dr.  P.  R.  Hoy,  of  Racine,  that  it  once  ex¬ 
isted  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin.! 

While  there  is  no  evidence,  then,  that  the  musk-ox 
ranged  to  the  lower  latitudes  of  the  United  States,  there 
is  conclusive  evidence  that  there  existed  an  allied  form, 
but  far  surpassing  him  in  magnitude,  which  seems  never 
to  have  penetrated  to  the  European  Continent.  This 
was  the  great  Ovibos  bombifrons,  and  perhaps  the  Ovibos 
cavifrons.  Our  eminent  comparative  anatomist.  Dr. 
Leidy,  classes  these  as  two  species,  but  Riitimeyer  is 
disposed  to  merge  them  into  one  —  the  0.  cavifrons  re¬ 
presenting  the  male,  and  the  0.  bombifrons  the  female. 
The  great  musk-ox  ranged  as  far  south,  and  even  below, 
the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  for  in  the 
earthquake  convulsions  of  1811-12,  which  disturbed 
that  region  so  profoundly,  a  cranium  belonging  to  this 
species  was  thrown  out  from  a  Assure  which  formed 
near  New  Madrid,  Missouri.  I  am  not  aware  that,  in 
its  northern  range,  it  has  been  found  beyond  Dubuque. 

*  Richardson’s  “Arctic  Expedition,”  pp.  193,  194. 

f  “  Transactions  of  the  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences,”  1870-2, 
p.  192. 


88 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  ]MAN. 


The  Reindeer  (^Cervus  tarandus')  is  common  to  both 
continents.  He  appeared  in  Europe  contemporary  with 
the  mammoth  at  the  beginning  of  the  Quaternary  Period, 
but  at  a  time  when  the  mammoth  was  rapidly  disappear¬ 
ing,  this  animal  was  vastly  augmenting  in  numbers.  In 
his  feeding  grounds,  he  closely  conforms  to  the  musk¬ 
ox.  He  formerly  ranged  as  far  south  as  the  Pyrenees, 
but  after  the  last  great  movement  of  the  waters  which 
deposited  the  “  red  diluvium,”  he  retired  to  the  coldest 
parts  of  Northern  Europe,  and  to  the  wooded  summits 
of  the  Caucasus  and  the  Oural. 

On  this  continent,  according  to  Leidy,  the  reindeer  is 
found  in  a  fossil  state  as  far  south  as  Big-Bone  Lick, 
Kentucky,  also  in  New  Jersey,  and  as  far  north  as  the 
frozen  cliffs  of  Eschscholtz  Bay,  Alaska.  How  far  the 
reindeer  differs  from  the  caribou,  comparative  anato¬ 
mists,  I  believe,  have  not  fully  determined  ;  but  I  have 
seen  the  latter  in  living  herds,  upon  the  northern  shore 
of  Lake  Superior,  while  De  Kay  has  met  with  their 
disjecta  membra  in  Northern  New  York. 

The  Great  Irish  Elk  {Megaceros  liihernicus')  was  the 
monarch  of  all  the  stag  tribe.  He  exceeded  ten  feet  in 
height,  with  antlers  which  spread  from  tip  to  tip,  eleven 
feet.  It  is  doubtful  whether  he  can  be  traced  back  to 
the  Pliocene  Epoch,  and  he  certainly  became  extinct  at 
the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  lacustrine  marl  which 
underlies  the  peat  bogs.  His  remains  are  abundantly 
found  in  Ireland  and  England,  and  sparingly  in  France, 
as  far  as  the  Pyrenees  i  in  Germany,  as  far  as  Silesia  ; 
and  in  Central  Italy.  The  Cervus  americanus^  found  in 
the  Big-Bone  Lick,  Kentuck}^,  according  ’to  Leidy,  ap¬ 
proximated  to,  if  it  did  not  exceed  in  size,  this  magnifi¬ 
cent  elk.  A  specimen  disinterred  at  Waukegan,  Ill. 
—  destroyed  in  the  Chicago  fire  —  from  imperfect  com- 


ANCESTOR  OF  THE  OX. 


89 


parisons,  nearly  rivalled  in  height  of  stature  and  spread 
of  horns,  the  great  Irish  elk. 

The  Aurochs  (^Bison  europoeus')  a23peared  early  in  the 
Quaternary,  and  his  remains  are  found  among  the  jiile- 
works  of  the  Swiss  Lakes.  He  still  survives,  thanks  to 
the  provident  care  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  in  the 
imperial  forests  of  Lithuania. 

The  Bison  prisons  of  Northern  Europe  is  represented 
on  this  continent  in  the  frozen  mud  of  Eschscholtz 
Bay.  Leidy  has  described  two  extinct  S2'»ecies  of  buf¬ 
falo  as  occurring  in  the  United  States,  Bison  antiquus 
and  Bison  cavifrons.  Riitimeyer  views  the  former  as 
the  male  and  the  latter  as  the  female  of  the  B.  prisons^ 
but  Leidy  remarks  that  “  this  is  reversing  the  usual 
order  of  things,  for  the  more  characteristic  fossil  first 
referred  to  B.  latifrons^  is  of  much  greater  2U’oj)ortions 
than  that  referred  to  B.  antiquus." 

The  American  Buffalo  may  be  allied  to  the  B.  prisons., 
the  diversities  being  due  to  laj)se  of  time  and  altered 
conditions  of  climate. 

The  Great  Ox  (Res  j)rimig emus')  appeared  after  the 
termination  of  the  Tertiary  Period,  and  is  supjjosed  by 
Riitimeyer  to  be  the  progenitor  of  our  domestic  ox, 
originating  in  Europe,  and  imj^orted  to  this  country  in 
historic  times.  The  wild  cattle  of  Chillingham,  Eng¬ 
land,  are  supposed  to  be  the  descendants  of  this  ancient 
urus.  In  the  time  of  Csesar  he  existed  in  Gaul  in  a  wild 
state,  and  is  represented  by  him  as  swift  of  foot  and 
formidable  as  an  adversary  ;  whilst  his  descendant,  un¬ 
der  the  effects  of  domestication,  is  slow,  docile,  and 
patient  of  toil,  and  of  less  massive  structure,  seen  espe¬ 
cially  in  the  diminished  size  of  the  horns,  which  are  no 
longer  required  as  a  means  of  defence.  His  organism, 
in  every  part,  when  his  services  are  no  longer  required, 


90 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OP  MAN. 


is  appropriated  to  the  wants  and  conveniences  of  man. 
Kind  culture  and  regular  supplies  of  food  have  modified 
his  disposition  and  even  his  anatomical  traits. 

The  Horse  (^Equus  fossilis)  appears  in  the  Quaternary- 
Period  of  Europe,  and  is  thought  to  be  the  ancestor  of 
the  existing  species  (^E.  cahallus),  although  smaller  in 
size,  resembling  the  variety  now  living  in  Iceland.  He 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  domesticated  by  the  cave- 
dwellers,  but  was  very  largely  used  for  food.  The  re¬ 
mains  of  the  same  species  of  horse  are  found  in  this 
country,  entombed  in  the  frozen  mud-cliffs  of  Esch- 
scholtz  Bay.  There  was  also  a  large  horse  in  the  South¬ 
ern  States,  described  by  Leidy  as  E.  major ^  and  on  the 
Plains  existed  another  species,  described  by  Marsh  as 
E.  parvulus,  which  was  less  than  three  feet  high.  A 
large  horse  also  existed  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  two 
latter  may  belong  to  the  Pliocene  Epoch.  Besides 
these,  there  are  two  other  species  described,  hardly  dis¬ 
tinguishable  anatomically  from  the  existing  horse.  I 
have  a  metacarpal  bone  of  another  species  from  the  Drift 
of  Iowa,  which  could  not  have  exceeded  four  feet  in 
height.  Conspicuously,  then,  as  the  horse  figures  in 
our  palseontology,  yet  he  had  so  long  disappeared  from 
this  country  at  the  time  of  its  discovery  that  the  Indians 
had  no  teadition  of  his  existence. 

The  Cave-lion  (^Felis  spelceaj  appears  to  have 
been  of  the  age  of  the  mammoth,  and  to  have  disap¬ 
peared  about  the  same  time.  Dr.  Falconer,  an  eminent 
authority,  conjectures  that  this  great  feline  animal  was 
the  same  as  that  which  is  now  found  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Altai  and  in  the  north  of  China,  and  which  is  supposed 
to  be  identical  with  the  Bengal  tiger,  driven  before  the 
advance  of  civilization  into  inaccessible  retreats.  It 
may  be  the  lion  of  Thessaly,  as  described  by  Herodotus, 


CAVE -HYENA. 


91 


which  attacked  the  camels  attached  to  the  army  of 
Xerxes. 

Messrs.  Boyd-Dawkins  and  Sanford  regard  this  ani¬ 
mal  as  the  representative  of  the  F.  atrox^  described  by 
Leidy  as  occurring  in  a  fossil  state,  near  Natchez  — 
some  of  the  bones  found  in  the  caves  of  the  Mendip 
Hills  being  apparently  identical  —  but  such  a  supposition 
seems  hardly  probable,  in  view  of  the  restricted  range 
of  the  Felidce  northward. 

While  in  this  country,  the  Felis  atrox  Leidy,  larger 
than  the  existing  lions,  roamed  along  the  Gulf  Coast, 
there  was  another  feline  animal  which  frecpiented  the 
coast  of  Texas,  the  Trucifelisfatalis  Leidy,  rivalling  the 
Bengal  tiger  in  size. 

The  Cave-bear  (^Ursus  spelceus},  the  largest  of  the 
species  known,  according  to  Owen  and  Pomel,  first 
made  its  appearance  in  England  and  France  towards 
the  end  of  the  Tertiary  Period,  and  became  extinct  be¬ 
fore  the  Reindeer  Epoch.  It  was  abundant  in  Central 
Europe,  the  southern  parts  of  Russia,  and  also  in  Italy, 
but  its  remains  are  wanting  further  north.  According 
to  Vogt,  every  gradation  between  the  cave-bear  and  the 
common  species  ( U.  arctos),  may  be  traced,  and  Mr. 
Busk  has  asserted  recently,  that  the  remains  of  the  bear 
found  in  the  British  caves  and  gravels,  identify  him 
with  the  U.  ferox  or  grizzly  bear  of  the  Rocky  Moun¬ 
tains.  In  this  country,  we  have  two  specimens  of  fossil 
bear,  the  TJ.  amerieanus  and  U.  amplidens,  whose  habi¬ 
tats  were  in  a  southern  region. 

The  Cave-hyena  (^Hycena  spelcea)  seems  to  have  been 
an  attendant  on  the  Pre-historic  Man,  as  his  remains  are 
abundantly  met  with  in  the  caves  of  Europe.  Whether 
he  originated  in  the  Pliocene  Epoch  of  the  Tertiary,  is 
not  known.  While  some  maintain  that  he  disappeared 


92 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


during  tlie  Reindeer  Epoch,  others  insist  that  he  is  but 
the  spotted  hyena  {Syoena  crotiica)  of  Southern  Africa. 
At  all  events,  the  change  of  his  habitat  indicates  a  vast 
change  in  physical  conditions.  In  this  country,  we  ap¬ 
pear  to  have  had  no  representative  of  this  scavenger-like 
animal,  the  nearest  approach  to  whom  would  be  the 
prairie  wolf  (^Canis  latrans). 

The  Suidce  were  represented  on  this  continent  during 
these  times  in  the  peccary  and  another  allied  form, 
while  on  the  European  continent  we  have  the  boar  (^Sus 
scrofa). 

The  Great  Beaver  (^Castoroides  ohioensis  Foster), 
which  ranged  from  Northern  Illinois  to  South  Carolina, 
finds  no  fit  representative  during  this  period  in  Europe. 

In  the  review,  thus  far,  of  the  fauna  of  the  two  con¬ 
tinents  during  the  Quaternary  Period,  it  will  be  seen 
that  those  animals,  such  as  the  elephant,  horse,  bison, 
reindeer,  musk-ox,  etc.,  whose  habitats  fitted  them  to 
endure  a  high  northern  latitude,  were  common  to  both 
continents,  which  would  imply  that,  at  one  time  there 
existed  an  uninterrupted  communication,  probably  by 
way  of  Behring’s  Strait.  As  we  trace  the  range  of  this 
fauna  on  the  respective  continents,  to  its  southern  limits, 
we  find  it  inosculating  with  tropical  forms,  which  are 
widely  diverse.  Thus  in  Europe,  are  found  the  hippo¬ 
potamus  and  hyena,  whilst  in  the  United  States,  we 
have  the  megatherium,  the  megalonyx,  the  mylodon,  and 
the  tapir.  From  the  presence  of  these  fossil  forms  so 
far  outside  the  tropics,  it  has  been  inferred  that,  even 
during  the  Drift  Period,  which  must  have  been  long- 
continued,  there  may  have  been  an  interval  in  which 
the  climate  was  warmer  than  at  present.* 

*  To  those  who  would  investigate  our  fossil  mammals,  I  would  com¬ 
mend  the  admirable  and  comprehensive  work  “On  the  Extinct  Faunae  of 


TERTIARY  FAUNA  AND  FLORA. 


93 


If  we  compare  the  faunse  of  the  Miocene  and  Quater¬ 
nary  Periods,  as  exhibited  on  this  continent,  particularly 
the  land  animals  which  are  supposed  to  he  peculiarly  sus¬ 
ceptible  to  atmospheric  changes,  we  shall  find  that  there 
are  marked  modifications  of  forms.  Dr.  Leidy,  in  his 
late  work  “■  On  the  Extinct  Mammalian  Faume  of  Dakota 
and  Nebraska,”  states  that,  of  the  thirty-two  genera  of 
Miocene  animals,  not  one  occurs  in  the  Quaternary  for¬ 
mation.  In  comparing  the  Miocene  and  Pliocene  faun® 
with  each  other,  as  represented  mainly  by  the  remains 
of  the  Mauvaises  Torres  and  the  Niobrara  River,  scarcely 
a  genus  is  common  to  both.  “  In  view,”  he  continues, 
“  of  the  consecutive  order  and  the  close  approximation 
of  position  of  the  two  formations  and  faun®,  such  ex¬ 
clusiveness  would  hardly  be  suspected.”  The  greater 
similitude  of  the  Miocene  and  Pliocene  faun®  with  the 
contemporaneous  faun®  of  the  Old  World,  has  led  him 
to  suggest  that  the  North  American  continent  was  peo¬ 
pled  during  the  Tertiary  Period  from  the  west.  “  Per¬ 
haps  this  latter  extension,”  he  continues,  “  occurred 
from  a  continent  whose  area  now  forms  the  bottom  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  whose  Tertiary  fauna  is  now  re¬ 
presented  east  and  west  by  the  fossil  remains  of  America 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  Asia,  with  its  peninsula  Europe, 
on  the  other.” 

Professor  Asa  Gray  arrives  at  substantially  the  same 
results  as  to  the  distribution  of  the  fiora  of  the  two 
continents  during  the  Tertiary  Period :  “  The  occurrence 
of  peculiarly  North-American  genera  in  Europe,  might 
be  best  explained  on  the  assumption  of  early  interchange 


Nebraska,”  etc.,  by  Dr.  Joseph  Leidy,  whose  labors,  extending  through  a 
long  series  of  years,  have  aided  so  much  in  elucidating  this  department 
of  our  Natural  History. 


94 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


and  diffusion  through  North  Asia,  rather  than  by  the 
fabled  Atlantis.”* 

The  topographical  features  of  the  two  continents,  as 
well  as  the  hydrographical  soundings  of  the  two  oceans, 
render  this  supposition  probable.  Between  Ireland  and 
Newfoundland  there  is  a  great  plateau  which  an  eleva¬ 
tion  of  the  earth’s  crust  to  the  extent  of  a  few  thousand 
feet  would  convert  into  dry  land ;  and  Behring’s  Strait, 
which  now 'separates  Asia  from  North  America,  is  at  its 
narrowest  point,  but  thirty  miles  wide,  and  its  shal¬ 
lowest  depth  is  but  twenty-five  fathoms.  Many  of  those 
mammalian  types,  represented  by  the  Proboscidians  and 
Ruminants  contemporary  with  the  elder  man,  originated 
during  the  Pliocene  Epoch.  None  of  these  large  ani¬ 
mals  could  have  passed  over  the  strait  which  now 
divides  the  two  continents,  and  the  close  alliance  of 
form  would  indicate  a  common  origin.  We  infer,  there¬ 
fore,  that  a  subsidence  during  or  preceding  the  Drift 
Epoch  cut  off  the  communication,  and  the  refrigeration 
which  then  took  place  served  to  disperse  the  colossal 
animals,  who  sought  by  migration  to  lower  latitudes 
a  climate  congenial  to  their  nature. 

Lyell  has  remarked  that  it  is  truly  wonderful  how 
the  primitive  man,  in  such  an  inhospitable  climate, 
taking  shelter  in  caves  and  grottoes,  in  possession  of  no 
more  formidable  weapons  than  have  yet  been  unearthed, 
and  surrounded  by  gigantic  and  ferocious  animals,  which 
he  was  compelled  to  hunt  for  his  sustenance,  could  main¬ 
tain  his  existence  under  such  adverse  circumstances. 
This  record  clearly  shows  that  he  possesses  traits  which 
place  him  immeasurably  above  all  other  animals. 

Man  by  nature  is  almost  the  weakest  and  most  de- 

*  Address  as  President  of  American  Association  for  Advancement  of 
Science,  Dubuque,  1872. 


MAN  —  HIS  FORCE  OF  INTELLECT. 


95 


fenceless  of  beings.  Brought  forth  in  sorrow,  he  requires 
for  a  long  time  nutrition  from  the  mother,  and  a  long 
tuition  to  enable  him  to  walk.  How  different  from  the 
young  of  other  animals!  It  is  necessary  that  his  food 
be  cooked,  and  that  his  body  be  artificially  clothed ;  and 
in  these  respects,  too,  he  dilfers  from  the  other  mammals. 
In  the  acuteness  of  the  senses  and  in  muscular  develop¬ 
ment,  he  is  confessedly  inferior.  The  flea  has  a  thousand 
times  his  agility  ;  the  passenger  pigeon,  in  a  half-hour  will 
pass  over  an  intervening  space  which  to  man  would  be 
a  toilsome  day’s  march.  The  condor,  soaring  so  high  in 
the  air  as  to  appear  a  mere  speck,  can  sight  his  prey  on 
the  surface,  while  to  man  it  would  be  invisible  at  the 
distance  of  a  thousand  feet  ;  and  in  the  paw  of  the 
lion  is  concentrated  the  strengtii  of  a  score  of  jirize- 
fighters. 

But  man  is  endowed  with  reason,  by  the  exercise  of 
which  he  makes  up  for  all  these  deficiencies,  repels  or 
subdues  all  other  anunals,  and  places  himself  at  the  head 
of  creation.  He  soars  in  the  air  above  the  eagle’s  flight; 
he  sounds  the  depths  of  the  sea  beyond  the  fishes’  range ; 
he  outstrips  the  pigeon  in  his  flight  over  the  land ;  his 
vision,  aided  by  art,  pierces  the  realms  of  space  infin¬ 
itely  deeper  than  that  of  the  condor’s ;  and  by  the  pres¬ 
sure  of  his  fore-finger,  exerting  less  strength  than  would 
be  required  to  lift  a  pound  weight,  he  stretches  the 
lordly  lion  in  the  dust.  Other  animals  have  a  restricted 
geographical  range,  but  man  is  found  amid  the  icebergs 
of  the  north,  and  beneath  the  burning  heat  of  a  tropical 
sun.  Is  it  singular,  then,  that  a  being  thus  endowed 
and  so  far  capable  of  protecting  himself  against  climate 
and  disease,  should  be  able  to  survive  changes  which 
have  extinguished  other  mammals  ? 

Note. — It  is  probable  that,  in  the  New  World,  as  in  the  Old,  we  shall 


96 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 


detect  the  earliest  traces  of  man  within  the  tropics.  Dr.  Lund,  a  dis¬ 
tinguished  Swedish  comparative  physiologist,  in  a  paper  which  will  be 
hereafter  referred  to  (p.  301),  has  described  human  crania  as  occurring  in 
the  bone-caves  of  Brazil,  associated  with  the  remains  of  extinct  genera  and 
species  of  quadrupeds;  and  more  recently,  in  i860,  Mr.  James  S.  Wilson, 
at  various  points  along  the  coast  of  Ecuador,  found  pottery,  vessels,  images, 
and  other  implements  highly  wrought,  and  some  even  in  gold,  in  a  stratum 
of  ancient  surface  earth,  (dirt-bed),  covered  with  a  marine  deposit  six  feet 
thick,  which  he  considers  as  old  as  the  Drift  deposit  of  Europe,  and 
identical  with  that  of  Guyaquil,  in  which  the  bones  of  the  mastodon  are 
met  with.  He  traced  six  terraces  in  going  up  from  the  sea  through  the 
province  of  Esmeraldas  towards  Quito,  and  in  all  cases  these  relics  were 
found  below  high-tide  mark,  which  proves  that  this  region,  after  human 
occupancy,  must  have  been  submerged  and  again  elevated  to  its  present 
position  ;  a  process  which  must  have  involved  a  very  considerable  lapse 
of  time.  In  no  region  of  the  earth  have  relics  indicating  so  high  a  degree 
of  skill,  been  found  in  deposits  so  old  ;  but  this  statement,  though  accepted 
by  Murchison,  requires  verification.  (Address  before  the  Royal  Geo¬ 
graphical  Society,  1862.) 


THE  MOUND  -  BUILDEKS  —  THE  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRI¬ 
BUTION  OP  THEIR  WORKS. 


‘HE  evidences  of  the  former  existence  of  a  pre- 


1-  historic  race,  known  as  the  Mound-builders,  who 
at  one  time  occupied  the  principal  affluents  of  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi,  the  Gulf  Coast,  and  the  region  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  are  too  conclusive  to  admit  of  doubt.  These 
evidences  consist  of  tumuli  symmetrically  raised  and 
often  enclosed  in  mathematical  figures,  such  as  the 
square,  the  octagon,  and  circle,  with  long  lines  of  cir- 
cumvallation ;  of  pits  in  the  solid  rock,  and  rubbish- 
heaps  formed  in  the  prosecution  of  their  mining  opera¬ 
tions  ;  and  of  a  variety  of  utensils,  wrought  in  stone  or 
copper,  or  moulded  in  clay,  which  evince  a  knowledge 
of  art  and  methodical  labor  foi’eign  to  the  Red  man. 
While  the  character  of  these  structures,  as  traced  over 
wide  areas,  differs  in  minor  particulars,  still  there  is  a 
general  uniformity  which  stamps  the  authors  as  one 
people  and  subjects  of  one  controlling  government. 

The  Mound-builders  were,  in  the  distinctive  character 
of  their  structures,  as  marked  a  people  as  the  Pelasgi, 
whose  pre-historic  works  can  yet  be  traced  throughout 
Greece  and  Italy.  These  Pelasgi  were  the  “  Wall- 
builders,”  for  wherever  they  went,  they  threw  up  forti¬ 
fications  made  of  polygonal  blocks,  known  as  cyclopean, 
G  97 


98 


THE  MOUND -BUILDBES. 


and  aptly  fitted  together  without  cement  or  mortar. 
Their  unwaiiike  character  led  them  to  shun  the  open 
combat,  and  the  numerous  Larissas  or  strongholds 
define  the  points  at  which  they  paused  in  their  migra¬ 
tions.  So  we  can  track  the  Mound-builders  by  their 
structures  from  the  shores  of  the  Great  Lakes  to  the 
milder  regions  of  Mexico  and  Central  America. 

Ancient  ivorks  in  the  Nortlmest.  —  The  northernmost 
limits  to  which  the  Mound-builders  penetrated,  so  far 
as  their  vestiges  have  been  observed,  were  Isle  Royale 
and  the  northern  and  southern  shores  of  Lake  Superior.* 
They  do  not  appear  to  have  made  permanent  settle¬ 
ments,  but  to  have  resorted  to  those  regions  during  the 
summer  months,  for  the  purpose  of  mining  copper. 
Proceeding  south,  we  find  their  mounds  at  frequent 
intervals  along  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Michigan, 
and  in  the  interior  along  the  water-courses  which  flow 
into  the  Mississippi. 

The  mounds  of  Wisconsin  differ  so  widely  from  those 
found  in  other  sections  of  the  country,  that  some  ob¬ 
servers  have  been  led  to  infer  that  they  were  constructed 
by  a  different  race,  but  Lapham  finds  general  resem¬ 
blances  which  connect  them  with  a  common  origin. 
These  differences  consist  in  the  fact  that,  instead  of  the 
predominant  type  being  circular  or  pyramidal,  the  forms 
for  the  most  part  consist  of  imitations  on  a  gigantic 
scale  of  animate  objects  which  were  characteristic  of  the 
region,  such  as  the  buffalo,  bear,  fox,  wolf,  and  otter, 
among  the  mammals  ;  and  of  the  lizard  and  turtle,  among 
the  reptiles  ;  of  the  eagle  and  night-hawk,  among  the 
birds  ;  and,  in  many  instances,  the  human  form  is  unmis¬ 
takably  portrayed. 

*  Mr.  D.  Gunn  describes  some  mounds  observed  by  him  in  the  valley 
of  the  Red  River  of  the  North.  (Smithsonian  Report,  1867.) 


ANIMAL  MOUNDS  OF  WISCONSIN. 


99 


Dr.  Lapham’s  attention  was  called  to  the  peculiar 
character  of  these  mounds  as  far  back  as  1836,  and  he 
communicated  the  fact  of  their  existence  to  the  public, 
through  the  newspapers  of  the  day.  In  1838,  Mr.  R. 
C.  Taylor  contributed  an  article  on  their  occurrence  to 
“  Silliman’s  Journal,”  accompanied  by  plans  of  surveys  ; 
and  subsequently.  Dr.  Locke,  in  the  Geological  Report 
of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  embodied  information  which 
greatly  enlarged  our  knowledge  of  these  structures ; 
but  in  1855,  Dr.  Lapham,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society,  brought  out  a  work,*  illustrated  by  numerous 
plates,  which  is  replete  with  all  the  information  to  be 
desired. 

Fig.  5. 


No.  I.  This  is  called  by  Lapham,  a  “  Turtle”  mound,  and  is  pronounced 
by  him  to  be  a  fine  specimen  of  mound-building.  It  occurs  at  Wau¬ 
kesha,  and  its  dimensions  are  as  follows :  Length  of  body,  56  feet ; 
length  of  tail,  250  feet ;  height,  6  feet. 

*  “  Antiquities  of  Wisconsin,”  “  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowl¬ 
edge.” 


100 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


Nos.  2  and  7  also  occur  in  this  vicinity,  and  are  what  our  author  calls 
“  Lizard”  mounds,  and  some  of  them  are  remarkable  for  having  curved 
tails.  (Fig.  8.) 

No.  9.  At  Trenton,  occur  the  Cruciform  figures.  One  cross  is  185  feet 
long  in  the  trunk  ;  the  head  24  feet  ;  and  each  arm  72  feet.  The 
height  is  about  4  feet,  and  the  width  28  feet. 

Nos.  3  and  4.  These  forms,  which  occur  at  Mayville,  are  pronounced  by 
Lapham  horse-like,  but  as  the  horse  was  unknown  on  this  continent 
during  the  Mound-builder  Epoch,  I  am  disposed  to  regard  them  as 
fox-like. 

No.  5  is  undoubtedly  designed  to  represent  a  bear,  and  is  one  in  a  group 
of  mammal  and  bird-like  forms  which  occur  on  the  dividing  ridge 
between  the  Kickapoo  and  Mississippi  Rivers. 

No.  12  is  one  of  the  bird-like  forms  in  the  above  group. 

No.  6  is  another  bird-like  form  known  as  the  “  Spread  Eagle.” 

No  14  is  the  form  of  a  buffalo.  This  figure  is  often  duplicated  in  a  long 
line,  which  is  designed  to  represent  the  procession-like  movement  of 
these  animals. 

Nos.  6  and  10  represent  winged  forms  which  occur  on  the  Fox  River  of 
Illinois,  above  Burlington. 

These  animal  forms  attain  no  great  elevation,  their 
height  varying  from  one  to  four  feet  above  the  surround¬ 
ing  prairie  :  nor  are  they,  in  all  instances,  thrown  up 
as  basso-relievos,  but  are  sometimes  represented  in¬ 
taglio. 

To  represent  the  various  groupings  of  these  animal 
forms  would  far  transcend  the  limits  of  this  work,  and 
I  have  therefore  contented  myself  with  selecting  such  as 
are  predominant,  premising  that  they  are  not  restricted 
to  a  single  locality,  but  are  reproduced  at  numerous 
points  in  the  southern  counties  of  Wisconsin. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Canfield  has  given  figures  of  mounds  in 
Sauk  County,  representing  living  forms  which  differ 
somewhat  from  any  of  those  above  described. 


ANIJIAL  MOUNDS  IN  OHIO. 


101 


Fig.  6. 


No.  I  represents  a  man  in  the  act  of  walking,  one  foot  being  partly  raised. 
The  figure  is  214  feet  long. 

No.  2  represents  an  animal  with  a  wondrous  length  of  tail  —  320  feet  — 
while  the  body  is  about  160  feet. 

No.  3,  Mr.  Canfield  regards  as  representing  the  night-hawk,  the  expanded 
wings  reaching  240  feet.* 


These  animal  mounds  occur  abundantly  in  the  valley 
of  the  Lower  Wisconsin  River,  and  about  the  Baraboo 
Rapids. 

Squier  and  Davis  mention  two  instances  of  their 
occurrence  in  Ohio  ;  the  “  Great  Serpent,”  in  Adams 
County,  “  with  its  head  conforming  to  the  crest  of  a  hill, 
and  its  body  winding  back  for  700  feet,  in  graceful 
undulations,  terminating  in  a  triple  coil  at  the  tail;” 
and  the  “  Alligator,”  in  Licking  County,  whose  length 
“  from  the  point  of  the  nose  following  the  curves  of  the 
tail  to  the  tip,  is  about  250  feet,  the  breadth  of  the 
body  40  feet,  and  the  length  of  the  legs  or  paws,  each 
36  feet.”t 

*  “  Sketches  of  Sauk  County,  Wisconsin.” 
f  “Ancient  Monuments,”  pp.  gy,  and  gg. 


Fig.  7. 

Plan  of  the  Ancient  Woeks  at  Aztalan,  Wis, 

Surveyed  by  Dr.  1.  A.  Lapham,  1850. 


Length  of  inside  trench  of  south  line . . . .  700  feet. 

“  “  “  west  line _ 1,419  “ 

“  “  “  north  line _  637  “ 


The  deeply-shaded  parts  represent  excavations. 
a,  b,  c,  d.  Pyramidal  structures. 

e,  /,  Deep  depressions.  g.  Ruins  of  mud-huts. 

“  The  main  feature  of  these  remains,”  adopting 
the  language  of  Dr.  Lapham,  “  is  the  enclosure 
or  ridge  of  earth,  extending  around  three  sides  of 


102 


EAKTHWORKS  AT  AZTALAN, 


103 


an  irregular  parallelogram,  the  west  branch  of  Rock 
River  forming  the  fourth  side  on  the  east.  The  space 
thus  enclosed  is  seventeen  and  two-thirds  acres.  The 
corners  are  not  rectangular,  and  the  embankment  or 
ridge  is  not  straight.  The  earth  of  which  the  ridge  is 
made,  was  evidently  taken  from  the  nearest  ground, 
where  there  are  numerous  excavations  of  very  irregular 
form  and  depth  ;  precisely  such  as  may  be  seen  along 
our  modern  railroad  and  canal  embankments. 

The  ridge  or  wall  is  about  twenty-two  feet  wide,  and 
from  one  foot  to  five  in  height.  The  wall  of  earth  is 
enlarged  on  the  outside,  at  nearly  regular  distances,  by 
mounds  of  the  same  material.  They  are  called  but¬ 
tresses  or  bastions,  but  it  is  quite  clear  that  they  were 
never  designed  for  either  of  the  purposes  indicated  by 
these  names.  .  .  .  They  are  about  forty  feet  in 

diameter,  and  from  two  to  five  feet  in  height.  On  the 
north  wall,  and  on  most  the  west  wall,  they  have  the 
same  height  as  the  connecting  ridge,  but  on  the  south 
wall  and  the  southern  portion  of  the  west  wall,  they  are 
higher  than  the  ridge,  and  at  a  little  distance  resemble 
a  simple  row  of  mounds.  .  . 

“  On  opening  the  walls  near  the  top,  it  is  occasionally 
found  that  the  earth  has  been  burned.  Irregular  masses 
of  hard  reddish  clay,  full  of  cavities,  bear  distinct  im¬ 
pressions  of  straw,  or  rather  wild  hay,  with  which  they 
have  been  mixed  before  burning.  These  places  are  of 
no  considerable  extent,  nor  are  they  more  than  six  inches 
in  depth.  Fragments  of  the  same  kind  are  found  scat¬ 
tered  about,  and  they  have  been  observed  at  a  great 
distance  from  these  ancient  ruins.  This  is  the  only 
foundation  for  calling  these  brick-walls.  The  bricks 
were  never  made  into  any  regular  form,  and  it  was  even 
doubtful  whether  the  burning  did  not  take  place  in  the 


104 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


wall,  after  it  was  built.  The  impression  of  the  grass  is 
sometimes  so  distinct  as  to  show  its  minute  structure, 
and  also  that  it  was  of  the  angular  stems  and  leaves  of 
a  species  of  Car  ex,  still  growing  abundantl}^  along  the 
margin  of  the  river.  As  indicating  the  probable  origin 
of  this  burnt  clay,  it  is  important  to  state,  that  it  is 
usually  mixed  with  pieces  of  charcoal,  partially  burnt 
bones',  etc.  Fragments  of  potteiy  are  also  found  in  the 
same  connections.”* 

The  highest  point  in  the  interior  of  these  works, 
according  to  the  above-cited  authority,  is  at  the  south¬ 
west  corner,  and  is  occupied  by  a  square  truncated 
mound  a,  which  when  seen  from  the  high  ground  at  e, 
presents  the  appearance  of  a  pyramid,  rising  by  succes¬ 
sive  steps,  like  the  gigantic  structures  of  Mexico.  The 
level  area  on  the  top  is  fifty-three  feet  on  the  west  side, 
and  was  probably  originally  square.  There  was  a  road¬ 
way  leading  from  the  mound  towards  the  east,  at  the 
point  c. 

At  the  north-west  angle  of  the  enclosure  b,  there  is 
another  similar  structure,  sixty  by  sixty-five  feet  on  the 
top,  with  the  remains  of  a  graded  way  at  the  southeast 
corner,  and  also  another  square  structure  at  d. 

The  rings  or  circles  connected  with  the  ridges,  about 
two  feet  high,  are  supposed  to  be  the  remains  of  mud- 
houses  ;  the  materials  of  the  walls  having  fallen  in,  left 
only  a  circular  mound  of  earth  to  mark  the  original 
site. 

There  are  two  excavations,  e  and/,  the  first  triangu¬ 
lar  and  the  last  circular,  which,  from  their  greater  depth, 
regular  shape,  and  distance  from  the  walls,  were  not 
made  in  the  process  of  obtaining  materials  for  the  struct¬ 
ures.  That  at  e  is  so  deep  and  the  soil  so  tenacious, 

*“  Antiquities  of  Wisconsin,”  p.  42. 


WORKS  ON  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  lOfi 

that  water  stands  in  the  bottom  of  it  much  of  the  time. 
The  circular  ridge  at  /,  consists,  doubtless,  of  the 
materials  thrown  out  in  digging.  Besides  the  burnt 
clay,  charcoal,  fragments  of  pottery,  and  human  bones, 
which  have  been  revealed  to  the  explorer  of  these 
works,  Mr.  Boynton,  who  resides  in  the  vicinity,  states, 
that  several  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  large  square 
mound  5,  was  found  what  appeared  to  be  the  remains 
of  cloth,  apparently  enveloping  a  portion  of  a  human 
skeleton.  Its  texture  was  open,  like  the  coarsest  linen 
fabric,  but  the  threads  were  so  entirely  rotten  as  to 
make  it  quite  uncertain  of  what  material  it  was  made.* 

The  animal  mounds  of  Wisconsin  are  associated  with 
those  of  a  circular  form,  but  the  latter  nowhere  attain 
a  conspicuous  height,  and,  with  the  exception  of  those 
at  Aztalan,  they  are  devoid  of  enclosures.  There  is 
nothing  to  indicate,  according  to  Lapham,  that  they 
were  erected  for  defensive  purposes.! 

In  the  vicinity  of  Chicago,  the  mounds,  whilst  abund¬ 
ant,  are  inconspicuous  but  of  exceeding  interest,  inas¬ 
much  as  they  have  yielded  skulls  of  a  singular  confor¬ 
mation,  whicli  will  be  hereafter  described. 

Ancient  works  on  the  Upper  Mississip^ri.  —  Crossing  to 
the  Mississippi,  where  it  forms  the  boundary  between 
Iowa  and  Illinois,  we  find  both  banks,  at  frequent  inter¬ 
vals,  crowned  by  ancient  works,  for  the  most  part  in 
the  form  of  circular  mounds,  rising  to  no  great  height, 
and  invested  by  no  earthen  walls.  In  the  region  of 
Dubuque  and  Dunleith,  they  rarely  attain  a  height  of 
more  than  twelve  feet,  and  sometimes  are  only  two  or 

*  Ibidem,  p.  47. 

f  To  those  who  wish  to  study  the  minute  details  of  these  structures,  I 
commend  the  admirable  work  of  Dr.  Lapham,  from  which  these  details 
have  been  extracted. 


106 


THE  MOUND -BTJILDEKS. 


three  feet,  so  that  it  requires  a  practised  eye  to  distin¬ 
guish  them  from  the  accidents  of  the  soil. 

The  subordinate  valleys  of  the  Rock  River,  the  Fox, 
Kankakee,  and  Illinois,  show  abundant  evidences  of 
former  occupancy  by  the  Mound-builders,  and  whilst 
the  mounds  are  inconspicuous,  they  are  not  destitute  of 
relics,  and  the  human  remains  are  indicative  of  a  race 
whose  skulls  are  marked  by  peculiarities  which  distin¬ 
guish  them  from  the  Red  man. 

In  the  lower  valley  of  the  Missouri,  Professor  Swallow, 
in  some  MS.  notes  kindly  placed  at  my  disposal,  remarks 
that  mounds  occur  on  the  bluff's  at  the  mouth  of  Moni¬ 
teau  Creek  ;  also  above  Boonville,  in  a  similar  position  ; 
and  between  that  point  and  the  mouth  of  La  Mine 
River.  Stone  mounds  were  observed  by  him  on  the 
naked  rock  bluffs  of  the  Osage  River  above  Warsaw. 
They  were  about  twenty  feet  in  diameter  and  five  feet 
high.  Similar  mounds  were  observed  by  Mr.  Conant 
on  the  Gasconade.  These  probably  are  of  a  more  recent 
origin  than  the  earthen  mounds.  Stone  heaps  are  found 
in  the  “  Cherokee  Country  ”  of  the  South,  where  their 
origin  is  directly  traceable  to  the  Indians. 

Professor  Swallow  also  observed  earthen  mounds  on 
the  Kansas  River  at  the  mouth  of  the  Republican, 
and  at  Manhattan  at  the  mouth  of  the  Blue  River.  In 
none  of  these  instances  were  they  enclosed  by  walls. 

The  site  of  St.' Louis  was  originally  so  thickly  studded 
with  ancient  works  that  it  acquired  the  title  of  “  Mound 
City.”  In  the  American  Bottom,  on  the  Illinois  side  of 
the  Mississippi,  there  is  a  vast  assemblage  of  mounds, 
and  the  whole  series  cannot  fall  much  short  of  two 
hundred  in  number.  They  are  isolated,  or  in  other 
words,  not  invested  with  lines  of  circumvallation,  as  in 
the  Ohio  Valley.  They  present,  too,  a  variety  of  forms  : 


EAETHWORKS  IN  MISSOURI. 


107 


some  are  oblong,  some  square,  some  ellipsoidal,  and  some 
conical.  The  group  lying  between  Alton  and  East  St. 
Louis,  is  computed  to  contain  not  less  than  sixty  struc¬ 
tures,  in  which  was  included  the  great  mound  of 
Cahokia,  the  monarch  of  all  similar  structures  in  the 
United  States.  When  this  magnificent  mound  was  in 
all  its  integrity,  for  alas  !  it  has  been  swept  away  by  the 
levelling  influence  of  modern  improvement,  it  rose  up 
in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram  with  sides  at  the  base, 
respectively  700  and  500  feet  in  length,  to  the  height 
of  90  feet.  On  the  southwest  there  was  a  terrace 
160x300  feet,  which  was  reached  by  a  graded  way, 
and  the  summit  was  truncated,  affording  a  platform 
200x450  feet.  From  this  platform  rose  a  small  conical 
mound  about  10  feet  high,  which,  on  exploration, 
yielded  human  bones,  funeral  vases,  and  various  imple¬ 
ments  of  stone.  It  is  probable  that  upon  this  platform, 
was  reared  a  capacious  temple,  within  whose  walls  the 
high  priests,  gathered  from  different  quarters  at  stated 
seasons,  celebrated  their  mystic  rites,  whilst  the  swarm¬ 
ing  multitude  below  looked  up  with  mute  adoration. 

The  entire  area  occupied  by  this  mound,  comprised 
about  six  acres,  and  in  close  proximity  were  four  elevated 
platforms,  varying  from  250  to  300  feet  in  diameter. 
The  subordinate  mounds  were  rich  in  relics,  as  attested 
by  many  collections  in  the  hands  of  persons  residing  in 
the  vicinity. 

The  great  mound  of  St.  Louis,  which  it  was  found 
necessary  to  remove  in  1869,  was  thirty-five  feet  high 
—  about  the  height  of  the  celebrated  mound  at  Marietta, 
Ohio. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Merrimac  River,  fifteen  miles 
southwest  of  St.  Louis,  on  the  farm  of  a  Mr.  Lamb,  were 
discovered  a  vast  number  of  low  tumuh,  which,  when 


108 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


explored,  were  found  to  contain  stone  slabs,  forming 
the  several  sides  of  graves  in  which  were  contained 
human  skeletons.  This  incident  is  mentioned  by  Priest, 
who  wrote  as  far  back  as  1834,  but  he  adds  the  improb¬ 
able  statement  that  these  skeletons  indicated  a  race  of 
pigmies. 

Seventy  miles  below  St.  Louis,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Chester,  Illinois,  there  is  an  ancient  cemetery,  described 
by  Dr.  Wilizenus,*  in  which  the  grave-hills  are  but 
slightly  heaped  up.  Each  grave  when  explored  is  found 
to  contain  a  cist,  enclosing  a  skeleton  for  the  most 
part  far  gone  in  decay.  These  cists  are  built  up  and 
covered  with  slabs  of  limestone,  which  here  abound. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  in  Perry  County, 
Missouri,  similar  cists  are  found,  and  often  near  the 
head  of  the  corpse,  beautiful  specimens  of  pottery  in 
the  form  of  drinking  vessels,  statuettes,  and  funeral 
urns  are  encountered,  some  of  which  I  shall  figure 
under  an  appropriate  head.  This  mode  of  burial  has 
not  been  noticed  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  Ohio  or 
Mississippi  Valleys,  but  in  the  region  of  the  junction  of 
these  two  rivers,  it  was  not  uncommon. 

Dr.  H.  F.  Harper,  of  Merom,  Indiana,  in  some  MS. 
notes  communicated  to  me,  describes  similar  stone  cists 
as  occurring  at  that  place.  There  are  mounds  in  that 
vicinity,  in  which  the  ordinary  mode  of  burial  was 
practised  by  heaping  up  the  earth,  and  hence  it  has  been 
inferred,  erroneously,  I  think,  that  there  have  been  two 
distinct  races  of  people,  apart  from  the  Red  man,  who 
successively  occupied  that  region. 

Mr.  E.  O.  Dunning  has  observed  similar  cists  in  the 
Chilhowee  Valley,  in  Tennessee.  “  They  are  built,’’ 
he  says,“  of  slabs  of  slate,  nicely  fitted  together,  about 

“Proceedings  of  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Sciences.” 


LOWER  MISSISSIPPI. 


109 


three  inches  thick,  four  feet  long,  and  two  feet  broad, 
enclosing  receptacles  not  of  uniform  spaee — generally 
5x1x2  feet,  covered,  by  flat  pieees  resting  upon  upright 
slabs,  and  conforming  to  the  rounded  corners  of  the  tomb. 
They  were  found  to  contain,  for  the  most  part,  frag¬ 
ments  of  human  bones,  too  mueh  decomposed  to  be 
removed  in  considerable  portions,  implements  of  stone, 
and  broken  vessels  of  clay.  .  .  .  Charcoal,  ashes, 

and  burned  clay  indicated  that  fire  had  been  used  at 
the  burial,  by  which  the  bones  and  many  other  relics 
were  consumed.”* 

It  would  seem  that  the  great  naturalist  Lesueur  was 
the  first  to  observe  this  mode  of  interment  in  some  of 
the  mounds  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Harmony,  Indiana, 
and  communicated  the  fact  to  Prince  Maximilian,  who 
recorded  it  in  his  “  Travels  in  North  America.” 

To  show  how  widely-separated  peoples  often  adopt 
the  same  mode  of  burial,  I  may  quote  the  testimony 
of  Mr.  Bateman,  who  has  recorded  the  systematic  open¬ 
ing  of  more  than  four  hundred  British  tumuli.  The 
fundamental  design  is  pretty  nearly  the  same  in  most 
plaees  ;  the  leading  feature  of  these  sepulchral  mounds 
is,  that  they  enclose  either  an  artless  stone  vault,  or 
chamber,  or  stone  chest,  otherwise  called  a  kistvaen^ 
built  with  more  or  less  care,  and  in  other  cases,  a  grave 
cut  out  more  or  less  below  the  natural  surface,  and  lined 
if  need  be,  with  stone  slabs.”  f 

Ancie'nt  works  on  the  Loiver  Mississippi.  —  There  are 
evidences  which  would  lead  us  to  believe  that  the 
junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  was  the 
seat  of  the  Mound-builders  ’  empire;  not  that  the  mounds 
are  the  most  conspicuous,  or  the  investing  lines  are  more 

*  '*  Smithsonian  Report,’’  1870. 

f  Cited  by  Lubbock,  “  Pre-historic  Times,”  pp.  335-336. 


110 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


intricate  —  for  the  latter  are  almost  entirely  absent,— 
but  it  formed  a  radiating  point  between  widely  separated 
regions.  The  navigable  streams  were  the  great  high¬ 
ways,  and  when  we  glance  at  a  map,  and  trace  the 
courses  of  the  various  tributaries  of  the  Great  River,  we 
see  how  vast  a  region  could  be  traversed  by  an  easj^  and 
expeditious  communication,  without  resort  to  artificial 
constructions.  The  relics,  too,  and  especially  the  pot¬ 
tery,  indicate  a  higher  style  of  art  than  is  observed  else¬ 
where.  A  series  of  low  mounds  occur  in  Mississippi 
County,  Missouri,  twelve  miles  from  the  battle-field  of 
Belmont,  on  the  Cairo  and  Fulton  Railroad.  These, 
so  far  as  explored,  are  rich  in  relics  of  a  high  order  of 
art,  such  as  water-jugs  and  statuettes,  some  of  which 
I  shall  describe  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  mounds  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Madrid  have  been 
explored  by  Professor  Swallow,  and  were  found  to  be 
remarkably  rich  in  pottery  and  stone  ornaments.  The 
results,  I  am  advised,  will  ere  long  be  given  to  the 
public. 

There  are  many  mounds,  according  to  Humphreys 
and  Abbot,*  in  the  St.  Francis  bottom,  some  of  which 
are  reported  to  be  very  large.  A  collection  of  them  is 
to  be  seen  on  the  premises  of  Mr.  Edmondson,  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Memphis,  on  the  line  of  the  Little 
Rock  and  Memphis  Railroad.  Scattered  over  them  are 
fragments  of  pottery,  and  many  curiosities  are  turned 
up  in  ploughing,  such  as  jugs,  hatchets  of  flint  or  hard 
slate,  human  bones,  etc. 

With  respect  to  the  southern  extension  of  these 
ancient  works,  Mr.  Edward  Fontaine  remarks:  “  That 
part  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  including  the  area  between 
the  Cumberland  Mountains,  where  they  terminate  near 

*  “  Physics  and  Hydraulics  of  the  Mississippi,”  p.  54. 


EARTHWORKS  IN  TENNESSEE. 


Ill 


Tuscumbia  and  Florence,  and  the  mouth  of  Big  Black 
River,  and  which  embraces  the  valleys  of  the  upper 
tributaries  of  the  Tombigbee,  with  the  country  watered 
by  the  Wolf  River,  and  all  the  affluents  of  the  Yazoo 
and  Big  Black,  was  once  densely  peopled  by  the  Mound- 
builders.  All  the  more  fertile  parts  of  the  lands  of  the 
Choctaws  and  Chickasaws,  which  lie  within  the  limits 
of  Mississippi,  and  formerly  in  a  part  of  Alabama  and 
Tennessee,  show  the  former  occupancy  of  a  much  more 
numerous  and  more  highly  civilized  race,  whose  remains 
are  found  wherever  I  have  examined  the  rich  lands  of 
the  West,  between  the  Alleghany  and  the  Mississippi. 
Tlie  whole  valley  from  Cairo  to  the  mound  of  Pointe  a 
la  Hache,  on  the  bank  of  the  river  fifty  miles  below  New 
Orleans,  is  full  of  them.  They  are  found  not  only  on 
the  Ohio  and  the  Trinity  River  of  Texas,  but  in  every 
situation  between  these  points,  which  would  be  selected 
as  a  favorable  spot  for  planting  and  farming,  by  a  skill¬ 
ful  agriculturist  of  the  present  age.  The  Choctaws 
and  Chickasaws  did  not  claim  the  builders  of  these 
tumuli  as  their  ancestors,  and  knew  nothing  about  their 
history.”  * 

Mr.  Fontaine  claims  that  this  ancient  race,  if  they 
did  not  cut  numerous  channels,  at  least  constructed 
“levees”  to  control  and  utilize  the  bayous  of  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi  for  the  purposes  of  agriculture  and  commerce. 
The  Yazoo  River,  whose  valley  is  interspersed  with  pre¬ 
historic  monuments,  in  the  Choctaw  language,  is  called 
Yazoo-ok-liinnali  —  The  River  of  Ancient  Ruins. 

The  tumuli  of  this  region,  conspicuous  examples  of 
which  are  to  be  seen  near  Florence,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Tennessee  River,  are  of  the  truncated  pyramidal  form. 
They  are  constructed  with  a  geometrical  precision,  and 
“How  the  World  was  Peopled,  ”  pp.  278-9. 


112 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


tlieir  sides  correspond  with  the  cardinal  points.  One 
of  these  mounds,  seen  by  him  in  1847,  when  little 
mutilated,  he  describes  as  being,  nearly  seventy  feet 
high,  and  covering  an  acre  of  ground. 

He  also  describes  a  group  of  mounds  in  Chickasaw 
County,  Mississippi,  which  are  in  the  form  of  a  truncated 
pyramid,  enclosed  in  an  irregular  earthen  wall  or  ditch, 
and  occupying  six  acres  of  ground. 

The  great  mound  at  Seltzertown,  Mississippi,  is  of 
such  dimensions  as  almost  to  preclude  the  belief  of  its 
artificial  origin.  It  is  a  truncated  pyramid,  about  600 
feet  long  and  400  broad  at  its  base,  and  covering  nearly 
six  acres  of  ground.  It  is  placed  very  nearly  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  cardinal  points,  its  greater  length  being 
east  and  west.  Its  height  is  forty  feet,  accessible  by  a 
graded  way  which  leads  to  a  platform  of  four  acres 
on  the  summit.  From  this  platform  rise  three  conical 
mounds,  one  at  each  end  and  one  in  the  centre.  Both 
of  the  extreme  mounds  are  truncated,  the  western¬ 
most  rising  to  the  height  of  forty  feet,  and  the  eastern¬ 
most  is  somewhat  less.  Eight  other  mounds,  incon¬ 
spicuous  in  size,  but  placed  at  regular  intervals,  are 
traceable.  The  great  mound  itself  or  the  platform  from 
which  rise  these  minor  structures,  is  surrounded  by  a 
ditch  of  an  average  depth  of  ten  feet. 

Dr.  Dickeson,  in  exploring  the  mound,  found  numer¬ 
ous  skeletons  and  specimens  of  pottery,  including  vases 
filled  with  pigments,  ornaments,  ashes,  etc.,  indicative 
of  burnt  offerings.  The  north  side  of  the  mound  is 
supported  by  a  Avail  of  sun-dried  bricks,  two  feet  thick, 
filled  with  grass,  rushes,  and  leaves.  Angular  tumuli 
mark  the  corners  which  were  formed  of  large  bricks 
retaining  the  impression  of  human  hands.*  Professor 
*“  Ancient  Monuments,”  etc.  pp.  117-118. 


WORKS  IN  ARKANSAS. 


113 


Swallow  has  also  observed  the  imprint  of  human  hands 
in  the  clay  which  enters  into  some  of  the  ancient  struct¬ 
ures  in  the  region  of  New  Madrid. 

In  some  of  the  older  works  which  treat  of  the  antiqui¬ 
ties  of  the  United  States,  we  frequently  find  allusions 
to  a  magnificent  city  which,  at  one  time,  was  supposed 
to  exist  within  the  limits  of  Arkansas.  Minute  explora¬ 
tions,  however,  have  not  confirmed  this  belief.  The 
pre-historic  ruins  in  this  State  are  not  conspicuous  for 
their  magnitude,  but  differ  somewhat  in  the  mode  of 
their  construction  from  what  has  been  observed  else¬ 
where.  Professor  Cox  remarks  that,  “  In  Phillips 
County  there  are  many  remains  of  old  fortifications  or 
aboriginal  towns  to  be  seen  —  monuments  of  a  by-gone 
race,  of  whose  history  no  tradition  known  to  the 
white  man,  has  been  preserved  by  the  occupants  of  the 
country.  One  of  these  ancient  works  of  art,  four  miles 
west  of  Helena,  at  the  terminus  of  Crowley’s  Ridge, 
was  visited.  The  embankments,  now  nearly  destroyed 
by  the  washing  of  the  rains  and  a  cultivation  of  a  part 
of  the  lands,  were  built  of  sun-dried  bricks,  mixed  with 
stems  and  leaves  of  the  cane.  The  vegetable  structure 
of  the  cane  is  still  well  preserved  in  the  clay  matrix, 
and  I  could,  in  no  instance,  find  any  evidence  of  the 
cane  having  been  charred  by  the  fire  hence  the  con¬ 
clusion  is,  that  it  received  no  greater  drying  heat  than 
that  given  by  the  sun.  Nor  is  there  any  appearance  of 
finished  brick,  of  which  it  has  been  said  this  wall  was 
built.  The  clay  and  stems  of  cane  appear  to  have  been 
mixed  together  and  moulded  into  a  wall,  somewhat 
after  the  manner  of  pese.  The  northern  boundary  of 
the  enclosure  is  formed  by  the  hills,  and  within  the 
interior  there  are  a  number  of  small  mounds.  Old  Toavii, 
fifteen  miles  below  Helena,  on  the  Mississippi  River, 
H 


114 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


derives  its  name  from  the  evidence  afforded  of  its  having 
been  the  site  of  an  aboriginal  village.”* 

At  Cave  Hill,  Washington  County,  there  is  a  stone 
fortification  —  a  wall  of  loose  rubble  —  whose  origin  has 
been  referred  to  the  Spaniards,  but  their  leader,  De 
Soto,  could  hardly  have  constructed,  in  a  hasty  march 
through  the  country,  all  the  works  which  are  ascribed 
to  him. 

Mounds  in  the  Southwest. — To  be  able  to  trace  these 
structures  with  their  distinctive  features  to  the  confines 
of  Mexico,  becomes  a  strong  link  in  the  chain  of  national 
affiliations.  Professor  C.  G.  Forshey,  whose  labors  as  a 
physicist  in  connection  with  the  hydraulics  of  the  JMis- 
sissippi,  and  the  many  public  works  executed  by  him 
in  the  Southwest  as  a  civil  engineer,  have  prominently 
identified  his  name  with  all  questions  relating  to  the 
antiquities  and  physical  geography  of  the  Lower  Mis¬ 
sissippi  Valley,  has  kindly  placed  at  my  disposal  his 
MS.  notes  relating  to  the  character  and  geographical 
distribution  of  the  mounds  in  that  region,  from  which  I 
shall  make  liberal  extracts  in  the  progress  of  this  work. 
I  desire  to  express  my  thanks  for  this  unqualified 
appropriation  of  the  abundant  materials  which  he  had 
accumulated  during  a  long  scientific  career. 

Many  years  ago  he  described  a  group  of  mounds, 
accompanied  by  a  plan,  situated  on  Prairie  Jefferson, 
Louisiana,!  the  largest  of  which  is  180  by  35  feet  at  the 
base,  and  attains  an  elevation  of  40  feet,  with  a  level 
area  on  its  summit  51  by  45  feet,  which  is  reached  from 
the  west  by  a  winding  graded  way.  Connected  with 
these  works  are  two  artificial  reservoirs,  formed  by 

*  “  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Arkansas,”  vol.  ii,  p.  414. 

f  “  American  Journal  of  Science,”  vol.  xlix,  p.  38.  See  also  “  Ancient 
Monuments,”  etc.,  p.  113. 


WORKS  IN  LOUISIANA. 


115 


throwing  up  lines  of  earth  around  them,  by  which  the 
builders  could  command  a  perennial  supply  of  water. 

Recurring  to  his  MS.  notes,  he  says :  “  Mounds ! 

mounds  ! !  yet  without  number.  I  have  described  many, 
figured  many,  surveyed  many,  fari  cursu^  which  1  have 
never  had  time  to  copy,  or  even  to  turn  back  to,  in  my 
note-books.  Right  before  me,  in  my  field-notes  of  seven 
surveys,  in  October,  1871,  is  a  rich  group  rudely  figured, 
that  I  had  not  seen  before,  though  often  passing  near 
them.  . 

“  The  first  of  these  groups  is  some  fifty  miles  above 
Vicksburg,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  two 
miles  back,  on  the  estate  of  Dr.  Keene  Richards,  called 
Transylvania. 

“  The  temple,  which  is  the  central  figure  of  twelve 
mounds,  looms  up  grandly  from  the  level  of  the  alluvial 
plain.  Arrow-heads  and  pottery  have  always  been 
abundantly  found  on  these  mounds.  I  made  no  excava¬ 
tions.  One  of  them  is  used  as  a  cemetery  for  the  colored 
population  of  the  plantation. 

“  The  next  set,  or  village  mounds,  lies  some  twenty 
miles  nearly  due  south,  on  the  same  side  of  the  river, 
but  about  seven  miles  back,  on  Walnut  Bayou,  embraced 
in  the  Compton  estate.  ‘  I  made  an  extemporaneous 
survey  of  these  mounds  in  1850,  but  have  not  access  at 
this  time  to  my  journals,  in  which  the  survey  has  slum¬ 
bered.  The  temple,  in  this  case,  is  not  so  large,  but  is, 
I  think,  thirty-five  feet  high,  with  variable  slopes. 
Half  a  dozen  smaller  mounds  are  grouped  around  the 
central  object. 

“  The  third  set  of  mounds  I  surveyed  with  some  care, 
and  described  in  1840,  with  a  topographical  drawing 
made  of  them  at  the  time.  I  think  there  are  ten  mounds  in 
a  form  nearly  circular,  facing  the  temple.  The  largest 


116 


THE  MOUND-BUILDEKS. 


is  similar  to  the  largest  in  the  Compton  group.  They 
are  on  the  Hollywood  plantation,  on  the^  southwest 
bend  of  Lake  St.  Joseph  —  one  of  the  ‘  old  river  lakes’ 
—  in  the  parish  of  Tensas. 

“  All  over  the  alluvial  region  north  of  Red  River,  and 
up  that  river,  there  are  occasional  isolated  mounds, 
besides  groups.  Of  the  latter,  by  far  the  greatest  is 
that  at  Trinity  —  the  junction  of  the  Ouachita,  the 
Tensas,  and  the  Ocatahoola  Rivers,  —  in  the  parish  of 
Catahoola,  Louisiana.  They  are  about  thirty  miles  west- 
southwest  from  Natchez,  and  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  below  the  triple  junction  which  forms  the  Black 
River.  In  this  group,  the  great  temple  is  about  1,500 
feet  from  Black  River,  and  800  feet  from  Little  or  Ocata¬ 
hoola  River,  and  is  42  feet  high  to  the  plane  square 
crown — a  conical  tumulus  40  feet  in  diameter  on  the 
summit,  looking  at  a  distance  like  a  female  breast  and 
nipple, —  a  similitude  which  strikes  every  beholder.  This 
group  alone,  of  all  the  mounds  I  have  ever  seen  south 
of  the  Ohio  River,  has  a  causeway  or  breastwork  around 
it  for  defence,  which  is  continued  across  from  Black  to 
Little  River.  The  embankment  may  have  been  raised 
as  a  levee  to  keep  the  back  water  from  the  rear  of  the 
group,  but  if  so,  it  is  very  insufficient,  since  all  the  river- 
banks  were  left  open.  The  temple  has  a  base  of  more 
than  one  acre  —  some  300  feet  square. 

“  From  this  point,  along  the  right  bank  of  this  stream 
up  to  Ocatahoola  Lake,  fifteen  miles  distant,  there  are 
a  number  of  mounds  of  like  magnitude,  with  the  minor 
ones  arranged  round  the  temple,  perhaps  twenty  or 
more,  manifestly  of  like  character,  and  erected  by  the 
same  people. 

“  One  notable  fact  is  of  great  value  as  probably  con¬ 
necting  these  mounds  with  the  Natchez  Indians.  Read 


NATCHEZ  INDIANS. 


117 


Le  Sage  du  Pratz,  whose  writings  I  consulted  at  the 
time,  and  satisfied  myself  that,  after  the  massacre  of  the 
French  at  Natchez,  in  1729,  these  people  took  refuge 
on  Little  River,  and  either  built  these  mounds  or 
denuded  them  of  their  forests,  settling  upon  and  occu¬ 
pying  them.  The  French,  learning  a  year  or  two  there¬ 
after  of  their  place  of  refuge,  ascended  the  Mississippi 
in  boats,  and  then  deviating  through  the  Red  and 
Black  Rivers,  suddenly  came  upon  the  poor  Natchez 
and  put  them  to  the  sword.*  These  are  the  most  west¬ 
erly  mounds  in  Louisiana,  except  far  up  the  Red  River, 
above  Grand  Ecore. 

*  The  Natchez  Indians,  so  far  as  I  can  gather,  were  first  visited  by  La 
Salle,  1681-82  ;  and  Tonty,  his  faithful  lieutenant,  entering  the  great 
town  of  the  Taensas,  an  allied  people,  gazed  at  it  with  astonishment. 
“He  had  seen  nothing  like  it  in  America:  —  large  square  dwellings, 
built  of  sun-baked  mud,  mixed  with  straw,  arched  over  with  a  dome¬ 
shaped  roof  of  canes,  and  placed  in  regular  order  around  an  open  area. 
Two  of  them  were  larger  and  better  than  the  rest.  One  was  the  lodge  of 
the  chief ;  the  other  was  the  temple,  or  the  House  of  the  Sun.  . 

The  Frenchmen  repaired  to  the  temple,  wherein  were  kept  the  bones  of 
the  departed  chiefs.  In  construction  it  was  much  like  the  royal  dwelling. 
Over  it  were  rude  wooden  figures,  representing  three  eagles  turned  towards 
the  east.  A  strong  mud  wall  surrounded  it,  planted  with  stakes,  on  which 
were  stuck  the  skulls  of  enemies,  sacrificed  to  the  sun.  .  .  .  There 

was  a  structure  in  the  middle  which  Membr6  thinks  was  a  kind  of  altar, 
and  before  it  burned  a  ‘  perpetual  fire,’  fed  with  three  logs,  laid  end  to 
end,  and  watched  by  two  old  men  devoted  to  the  sacred  office.”  (Park- 
man,  “  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,”  p.  277.) 

Charlevoix,  who  followed  after,  describes  their  chiefs  as  claiming  to  be 
the  “Children  of  the  Sun,” — as  combining  in  their  office  the  civil  and 
sacerdotal  powers.  Temples  were  erected  upon  the  foundations  of  the 
mounds,  where  the  people  assembled  on  stated  occasions,  and  lodges  were 
set  apart  in  which  was  maintained  the  “  eternal  fire.”  The  Natchez 
Indians,  now  extinct,  distinguished  by  religious  observances,  and  pos¬ 
sessed  of  a  language  which  had  no  affinity,  so  far  as  observed,  with  those 
of  surrounding  tribes,  are  supposed  by  many,  to  have  been  a  remnant  of 
the  Mound-builders. 

Du  Pratz  has  but  followed  the  observations  of  his  predecessors,  when 


118 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


“  There  are  several  large  mounds  twenty  miles  west 
of  this  group,  on  the  east  bank  of  Little  Eiver,  only  a 
mile  or  two  above  its  mouth,  where  it  passes  into  Lake 
Ocatahoola.  They  stand  on  a  bluff  some  forty  feet 
above  the  river.  One  is  about  one  hundred  feet  square 
at  the  base,  with  very  steep  sides,  and  covered  with  the 
ordinary  pine  forest.  It  is  the  only  mound  with  stone 
masonry  in  its  structure,  which  I  have  seen  south  of  the 
Ohio.  A  caving  face  exposed  blocks  some  twelve  to 
eighteen  inches  in  size,  rudely  carved  or  broken  in  shape, 
supporting  its  steep  sides.  The  stone  was  taken  from 
the  immediate  vicinity — the  soft  sandstone  of  the  Ter- 
tiaries,  or,  perhaps,  the  indurated  materials  of  the  Drift, 
as  seen  at  Grand  Gulf. 


he  describes  the  Natchez  Indians  as  sun-worshippers  ;  as  having  temples 
in  which  were  maintained  “perpetual  fires,”  and  whose  chiefs  were  high- 
priests,  claiming  descent  from  the  sun  ;  whose  dwellings  were  reared 
upon  mounds  ;  and  who  ruled  with  despotic  sway. 

Professor  Forshey  states  that  before  he  had  known  of  these  mounds, 
he  met  in  Philadelphia  (1840),  Mr.  Peter  S.  Duponceau,  who  has  done  so 
much  in  tracing  out  the  affinities  of  American  language.  The  great 
linguist  asked  him,  a  citizen  of  Natchez,  with  regard  to  the  traditions 
touching  the  Natchez  Indians,  but  never  having  read  Du  Pratz,  he  was 
dumb.  Duponceau  said  that  the  Natchez  and  “  White  Apples  ”  were  one 
and  the  same  people.  The  latter.  Professor  Forshey  knew  about,  as  he 
had  been  upon  their  mound-houses — twelve  miles  southeast  of  Natchez — 
on  Second  Creek,  and  their  customs  had  been  well  described  by  Sir 
William  Dunbar  and  Winthrop  Sargent,  who  was  the  first  Governor  of 
the  Mississippi  Territory.  Duponceau  said  that  only  a  few  of  the  Natchez 
Indians  were  left  after  the  massacre  on  the  Ocatahoola  (?)  and  these  few 
became  mingled  with  the  Caddos  and  the  Delawares,  he  thinks,  or  with 
the  Alabamas. 

When  he  returned,  he  read  Du  Pratz,  and  examined  until  he  satisfied 
himself  that  the  last  place  of  refuge  and  the  scene  of  the  massacre,  was 
as  above  stated ;  but  whether  they  built  the  mounds  or  only  occupied 
them,  was  a  matter  of  doubt.  Certainly  there  were  no  trees  upon  them 
older  than  a  century,  while  all  around  were  trees  which,  from  their  size, 
indicated  a  growth  of  four  or  five  centuries. 


WORKS  IN  LOUISIANA. 


119 


“  Below  Natchez,  near  the  bluff  on  the  alluvial  bot¬ 
tom,  and  only  a  thousand  feet  from  its  base,  a  mound  of 
some  fifty  feet  square  on  the  summit  and  with  steep 
sides,  twenty-five  feet  high,  stands  up  isolated  in  the 
swamp.  The  trees,  not  very  large,  grow  over  it.  Such 
positions  are  not  unusual,  and  yet  they  appear  uncalled 
for,  since  the  bluffs  rise  up  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
high  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 

“  There  is  another  mound,  similar  in  form  and  posi¬ 
tion,  near  the  mouth  of  St.  Catharine’s  Creek,  fifteen 
miles  below,  on  the  Laurel  Hill  estate  of  Dr.  Mercer. 
These  are  among  the  many  surveys  and  observations 
made  by  me  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  and 
are  described  from  memory. 

“  A  large  number  of  mounds  are  distributed  over  the 
Atchafalaya  basin,  which  I  have  not  personally  exam¬ 
ined.  In  the  rear  of  Baton  Rouge,  and  all  along  the 
uplands  of  Lake  Pontchartrain,  are  many  small  mounds, 
indicative  of  the  vestiges  of  a  pre-historic  race.” 

“  Upon  the  high  and  gently  undulating  banks  of 
Bayou  Gros  Tdte,”  according  to  Humphreys  and  Abbot, 
“  there  are  ten  or  twelve  earthen  mounds,  arranged 
mostly  in  groups  of  two  or  three.  The  largest  of  these 
is  at  the  mouth  of  Bayou  Fordoche,  it  being  conical  in 
shape  and  rising  to  the  height  of  twenty-five  feet. 
There  are  two  mounds,  situated  about  eight  hundred 
feet  apart  on  the  north  bank  of  this  bayou,  about  two 
miles  above  Rosedale,  both  of  the  same  dimensions, 
having  the  form  of  a  square  truncated  pyramid,  twelve 
feet  in  height,  the  slope  of  the  sides  being  about  2.5 
upon  1,  and  the  length  of  each  side,  on  the  top,  being 
about  fifty  feet.  The  western  mound  had  a  ramp  on  its 
eastern  side,  with  a  slope  of  about  3.5  upon  1.”  * 

*  “  Physics  and  Hydraulics  of  the  Mississippi,”  p.  433. 


120 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


As  an  illustration  of  the  platform  mound,  which  is 
predominant  in  the  Southwest,  I  introduce  the  follow¬ 
ing  plan  of  a  group  in  Madison  Parish,  Louisiana,  made 
by  Mr.  Thos.  Hough,  for  Mr.  McBride,  of  Ohio,  and 
incorporated  in  the  work  of  Squier  and  Davis :  * 


Fig.  8. 


Platform  Mounds,  Madison  Parish,  Louisiana. 


A,  the  largest  mound,  is  250  yards  distant  from  Walnut  Bayou.  It  is 
225  by  162  feet  at  the  base,  and  30  feet  high,  with  a  level  area  on  the 
summit,  120  by  75  feet.  On  the  north,  it  has  a  terrace  10  feet  wide 
and  extending  the  entire  length  of  the  mound.  On  the  south,  it  has 
an  avenue  20  feet  broad,  reaching  to  the  top.  At  each  end  is  an 
inclined  platform  75  by  60  feet. 

B  is  a  mound  less  elevated,  180  by  120  at  its  base,  and  15  feet  high. 
The  area  on  the  summit  is  120  by  60  feet.  A  graded  way  leads  to  the 
top  from  the  north.  At  the  east  end  is  a  similar  approach  75  by  60 
feet,  and  8  feet  high,  where  it  joins  the  main  structure.  At  the  west 
end  is  a  similar  way  120  by  60  feet. 

C  is  a  similar  mound,  96  feet  square  at  the  base,  10  feet  high,  with  a 
platform  of  48  feet  square  on  the  top.  Two  other  mounds,  each 

*  “Ancient  Monuments,”  etc.,  p.  115. 


INEXPLICABLE  MOUNDS. 


121 


6o  feet  square  and  8  feet  high,  are  connected  with  the  main  mound 
by  elevated  terraces,  40  feet  by  4,  the  length  of  one  being  125  feet, 
and  the  other  75  feet. 

D  is  a  less  conspicuous  mound,  square  in  form,  with  a  graded  way  from 
the  south,  leading  to  its  summit. 

E  and  F  are  square  mounds  which  are,  in  a  measure,  isolated. 

G  is  a  double  quadrangular  mound,  by  no  means  conspicuous. 

H  represents  the  eastern  extremity  of  a  wall  or  roadway  running  parallel 
with  Walnut  Bayou,  3  feet  high,  75  feet  broad,  and  2,700  feet  in 
length.  Upon  either  side  of  this  roadway  are  depressions  in  the 
nature  of  a  ditch,  and  in  one  place  they  are  so  deep  as  to  give  origin 
to  a  pool  of  water. 

“  There  is  a  class  of  mounds,”  remarks  Professor 
Forshey  in  his  MS.  notes,  “  west  of  the  Mississippi 
Delta,  and  extending  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Arkansas 
and  above,  and  westward  to  the  Colorado  in  Texas, 
that  are  to  me,  after  thirty  years’  familiarity  with  them, 
entirely  inexplicable. 

“  In  my  Geological  Reconnoissance  of  Louisiana,  in 
1841-2,  I  made  a  pretty  thorough  report  upon  them. 
I  afterwards  gave  a  verbal  description  of  their  extent 
and  character  before  the  New  Orleans  Academy  of 
Sciences.  These  mounds  lack  every  evidence  of  artificial 
construction,  based  on  implements  or  other  human 
vestigia.  They  are  nearly  all  round,  none  angular,  and 
have  an  elevation  hemispheroidal,  of  one  foot  to  five 
feet,  and  a  diameter  from  thirty  feet  to  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet.  They  are  numbered  by  millions.  In 
many  places,  in  the  pine  forests  and  upon  the  prairies, 
they  are  to  be  seen  nearly  tangent  to  each  other,  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach,  thousands  being  visible  from  an 
elevation  of  a  few  feet. 

“On  the  Gulf  marsh  margin,  from  the  Vermillion  to 
the  Colorado,  they  appear  barely  visible,  often  flowing 
into  one  another,  and  only  elevated  a  few  inches  above 


122 


THE  MOUND  -  BXnLDEES. 


the  common  level.  A  few  miles  interior  they  rise  to 
two  and  even  four  feet  in  height.  The  largest  I  ever 
saw  were  perhaps  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  diameter, 
and  five  feet  high.  These  were  in  Western  Louisiana. 
Some  of  them  had  abrupt  sides,  though  they  are  nearly 
all  of  gentle  slopes.  There  is  ample  testimony  that  the 
pine  trees  of  the  present  forests  antedate  these  mounds. 
The  material  for  their  construction  is  like  that  of  the 
vicinity  everywhere,  and  often  there  is  a  depression  in 
close  proximity  to  the  elevation.” 

Professor  Forshey  then  proceeds  to  state  that  he 
encountered  hundreds  of  these  mounds  between  Gal¬ 
veston  and  Houston,  and  between  Red  River  and  the 
Ouichita ;  and  they  were  so  numerous  as  to  forbid  the 
supposition  of  their  having  been  the  foundations  of 
human  habitations;  that  the  burrowing  animals  com¬ 
mon  to  the  region  piled  up  no  such  heaps ;  and  finally 
that  the  winds,  while  capable  of  accumulating  loose 
materials,  never  distribute  them  in  the  manner  above- 
mentioned.  In  conclusion,  he  adds,  “  In  utter  despera¬ 
tion  I  cease  to  trouble  myself  about  their  origin,  and 
call  them  ‘  inexplicable  mounds.’  ” 

Ancient  works  on  the  Grulf  Coast. —  From  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  River,  these  ancient  structures  are  traced  through 
the  Gulf  States  to  Florida.  Those  occurring  on  the 
Etowah  River,  in  Alabama,  were  first  described  in  “  Sil- 
liman’s  Journal,”  by  Mr.  E.  Cornelius.*  The  principal 
mound,  enclosed  in  a  semicircular  ditch,  is  described  as 
attaining  an  altitude  of  over  75  feet,  and  over  1,200  feet 
in  circumference  at  its  base.  It  is  truncated,  and  has 
a  graded  avenue  leading  to  its  summit. 

On  the  Etowah  River,  near  Cartersville,  Georgia, 
there  is,  according  to  Mr.  M.  F.  Stephenson,  a  group  of 
*  Vol.  i,  p.  223. 


WORKS  IN  OHIO  VALLEY. 


123 


ten  mounds,  situated  in  the  bend  of  the  stream,  and 
protected  on  the  land  side  by  a  moat,  which  is  from 
twenty  to  thirty  feet  deep.  The  central  mound  is 
square,  and  measures  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  on  the 
top,  with  a  raised  platform  on  the  east  side,  twenty  feet 
high  and  forty  wide  —  evidently  where  sacrifices  were 
offered,  as  a  sandstone  idol  was  ploughed  up  on  it, 
together  with  excavated  discs  or  mortars,  six  inches  in 
diameter,  and  of  translucent  quartz,  elegant  in  Avork- 
manship,  stone-axes,  a  small  native-copper  vessel,  per¬ 
forated  shells  (which  are  found  in  all  the  mounds), 
mica  mirrors,  and  the  only  gold  beads  ever  found — 
native  gold  being  found  in  the  neighborhood.  This 
mound  is  eighty-eight  feet  high,  and  a  few  rods  from 
it  is  a  circular  one,  sixty  feet  high  which  twenty  years 
ago  had  a  parapet  on  the  top  five  feet  in  height.  The 
remainder  are  only  about  twenty  feet  high. 

At  the  Falls  of  Little  River,  near  the  Alabama  line, 
according  to  the  same  authority,  in  the  crest  of  the  fall, 
are  three  chambers  hewn  out  of  the  solid  sandstone ; 
and  at  Nacoochee,  the  crest  of  a  conical  hill  was  cut  off 
at  about  fifty  feet,  so  as  to  embrace  an  acre  and  one- 
half,  which,  on  two  sides,  is  quite  precipitous,  and  on 
the  others  has  a  ditch  and  wall ;  the  latter  was  formerly 
six  feet  high,  enclosing  about  twenty  acres. 

At  Macon  are  stupendous  remains ;  also  in  Campbell 
County,  on  the  Chattahoochee.  The  Yond  Mountain, 
4,000  feet  high,  of  solid  granite,  is  a  cone  crested  Avith 
trees,  but  perpendicular  on  all  sides,  except  one  space 
Avhich  is  walled  with  stone  ;  so  is  the  Stone  Mountain, 
which  is  2,360  feet  high,  and  accessible  on  one  side 
only,  Avhich  is  also  Availed.* 

Ancient  works  in  the  Ohio  Valley. — The  ancient  earth- 

*“  Smithsonian  Report,”  1870. 


124 


THE  MOIJND-BUILDEBS. 


works  in  this  valley  have  been  so  elaborately  described 
by  Squier  and  Davis,  that  I  shall  only  refer  to  their 
labors  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  to  illustrate  the  ethno¬ 
graphy  of  the  United  States.  Not  only  are  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio  at  frequent  intervals,  crowned  by  these 
structures,  but  those  of  the  subordinate  streams,  such 
as  the  Wabash,  the  Scioto,  the  Miami,  and  the  Muskin¬ 
gum,  entering  from  the  north ;  and  those  from  the 
opposite  side,  such  as  the  Kenawhas,  the  Cumberland, 
and  Tennessee.  The  number  of  tumuli  in  Ohio  alone  is 
estimated  by  the  authors  before  referred  to  at  10,000, 
and  the  number  of  enclosures  at  from  1000  to  1500. 
Ross  County,  of  which  Chillicothe  is  the  capital,  con¬ 
tains  100  enclosures  and  500  mounds.  These  facts, 
I  think,  clearly  indicate  that  this  region  must  formerly 
have  sustained  a  dense  population,  who  derived  their 
support  mainly  from  agriculture. 

In  many  of  these  works  we  meet  with  a  feature  which 
plays  but  a  subordinate  part  in  those  before  described, 
but  which  here  becomes  the  most  conspicuous,  and 
impresses  the  beholder  most  forcibly  as  to  the  unity  of 
design  and  mathematical  precision  which  have  been 
carried  out  in  their  construction.  I  refer  to  the  elabo¬ 
rately-constructed  walls  of  earth  or  stone,  with  which 
the  mounds  are  enclosed.  In  these  walls  the  geo¬ 
metrical  figures  of  the  square,  the  circle,  the  octagon, 
and  the  rhomb  are  represented ;  there  are,  too,  gateways, 
parallel  lines,  outlooks,  and  other  forms  —  the  whole 
forming  an  intricate  and  yet  harmonious  system.  I  give 
two  illustrations  from  Squier  and  Davis’s  admirable 
work,  of  the  combination  of  mound  and  enclosure ;  the 
one  occurring  at  Newark,  and  the  other  at  Marietta, 
Ohio. 


WORKS  IK  OHIO. 


125 


Fig.  9. 

Plat  of  Ancient  Works  near  Newark,  Ohio. 
Scale,  2600  feet = one  inch. 


The  most  intricate,  if  not  the  most  gigantic  of  all  the 
Mound-builders’  works,  occur  in  the  Licking  Valley, 
near  Newark.  They  occupy  a  plain  between  Raccoon 


126 


THE  MOUND -BUILDEES. 


Creek  and  the  south  fork  of  Licking  Creek,  which  is 
elevated  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  above  those  water¬ 
courses,  and  extends  over  an  area  of  two  square  miles. 
The  preceding  plat  is  from  a  survey  made  by  Colonel 
Whittlesey.* 

I  can  only  give  a  general  description  of  the  magnifi¬ 
cent  system  of  works  here  displayed.  Starting  at  the 
east  the  observer  finds  himself  enclosed  in  a  nearly 
circular  embankment  twelve  feet  high  and  fifty  feet 
broad  at  the  base,  with  an  interior  ditch  seven  feet  deep 
and  thirty-five  feet  wide.  At  the  gateway,  which  is 
marked  by  two  parallel  lines  eighty  feet  apart,  the  para¬ 
pets  rise  to  the  height  of  sixteen  feet,  with  a  ditch  thirteen 
feet  deep,  making  the  altitude  in  the  interior  about  thirty 
feet.  These  walls  do  not  form  a  true  circle,  the  respective 
diameters  being  1250  and  1150  feet.  The  area  enclosed 
is  upwards  of  thirty  acres  ;  and  this  site  was  fixed  upon,- 
and  none  could  be  more  picturesque,  for  holding  one  of 
the  annual  state  fairs.  In  the  centre  is  a  mound  in  the 
shape  of  a  huge  bird-track,  the  middle  toe  being  155 
feet,  and  the  other  two,  110  feet,  in  length.  In  front 
is  a  semilunar  embankment,  slightly  elevated,  which  is 
about  200  feet  in  length.  No  one  whose  mind  is  sus¬ 
ceptible  to  whatever  is  grand  in  nature  or  in  art,  can 
view  with  indifference  this  magnificent  work  ;  not  in 
ruins,  except  so  far  as  it  may  have  been  crowned  with 
palisades,  but  as  perfect  as  on  the  day  of  its  abandon¬ 
ment.  “  Here,”  as  Squier  well  remarks,  “  covered  with 
tire  gigantic  trees  of  a  primitive  forest,  the  work  truly 
presents  a  grand  and  impressive  appearance ;  and  in 
entering  the  ancient  avenue  for  the  first  time,  the  visitor 
does  not  fail  to  experience  a  sensation  of  awe,  such  as 
he  might  feel  in  passing  the  portals  of  an  Egyptian 
*  “  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,"  p.  67. 


WORKS  AT  NEWARK. 


127 


temple,  or  in  gazing  upon  the  ruins  of  Petra  of  the 
Desert.” 

Passing  out  of  the  gateway,  a  broad  passage  lined  by 
walls  of  no  great  height,  leads  to  an  irregular  square, 
containing  about  twenty  acres.  A  low  mound  marks 
each  corner  and  also  each  central  entrance,  except  in 
the  west  wall.  From  the  northeastern  gateway,  there 
extend  parallel  lines  connecting  with  a  series  of  low 
walls,  as  intricate  almost  as  a  Cretan  labyrinth,  and 
there  is  an  arched  line  of  circumvallation,  embracing 
numerous  low  mounds  and  one  small  circle.  Near  the 
centre  of  the  northwest  wall  there  is  another  gateway, 
with  a  broad  and  gently-curved  avenue,  leading  to  the 
octagon,  which  encloses  an  area  of  fifty  acres.  The 
angles  of  this  structure  are  not  coincident,  although  the 
sides  are  nearly  equal.  Opposite  each  entrance,  there 
is  a  pyramidal  mound,  about  five  feet  high,  and  eighty 
by  one  hundred  feet  at  the  base.  From  the  gateway 
on  the  southeast  side,  parallels,  three  hundred  feet  long 
and  sixty  feet  apart,  conduct  the  observer  into  another 
true  circle,  about  one-half  mile  in  circumference,  and 
enclosing  an  area  of  twenty  acres.  Outside  the  circle 
and  opposite  the  gateway,  there  is  a  work  of  peculiar 
structure.  “  It  would  seem,”  remarks  Mr.  Squier,  “  that 
the  builders  had  originally  determined  to  carry  out 
parallel  lines  from  this  point,  but  after  proceeding  one 
hundred  feet,  had  suddenly  changed  their  minds  and 
finished  the  enclosure  by  throwing  up  an  immense 
mound  across  the  uncompleted  parts.  This  wall  which 
may  be  taken  as  constituting  a  part  of  the  wall  of  the 
enclosure,  is  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  long,  eight 
feet  higher  than  the  general  level  of  the  embankment, 
and  overlooks  the  entire  work.” 

From  the  octagon,  parallel  lines  diverge  southwest. 


128 


THE  MOUND -BUELDEBS. 


which  may  be  traced  for  two  miles.  Similar  parallels, 
nearly  a  mile  in  extent,  diverge  eastward,  enclosing  a 
series  of  circles  about  two  hundred  feet  in  diameter, 
together  with  a  series  of  less  diameter,  and  form  a  line 
of  communication  between  the  different  parts  of  the 
system. 

A  pond  occupying  an  area  of  about  one  hundred  acres, 
now  drained,  existed  just  outside  the  works,  and  its 
western  margin  was  marked  by  four  inconspicuous 
mounds. 

No  one,  I  think,  can  view  the  complicated  system  of 
works  here  displayed,  and  stretching  away  for  miles, 
without  arriving  at  the  conclusion  that  they  are  the 
result  of  an  infinite  amount  of  toil,  expended  under  the 
direction  of  a  governing  mind,  and  having  in  view  a 
definite  aim.  At  this  day,  with  our  iron  implements, 
with  our  labor-saving  machines,  and  the  aid  of  horse 
power,  —  to  accomplish  such  a  task  would  require  the 
labor  of  many  thousand  men  continued  for  many  months. 
These  are  the  work  of  a  people  who  had  fixed  habita¬ 
tions,  and  who,  deriving  their  support,  in  part  at  least, 
from  the  soil,  could  devote  their  surplus  labor  to  the 
rearing  of  such  structures.  A  migratory  people,  depend¬ 
ent  upon  the  uncertainties  of  the  chase  for  a  living, 
would  not  have  the  time,  nor  would  there  be  the  motive, 
to  engage  in  such  a  stupendous  undertaking. 

The  ancient  works  at  Marietta,  are  on  nearly  as  grand 
a  scale  as  those  which  I  have  described,  a  perspective 
view  of  which  is  given  as  a  Frontispiece  to  this  volume, 
being  a  reduced  copy  of  the  one  prefixed  to  Squier  and 
Davis’s  “  Ancient  Monuments.” 

When  in  the  spring  of  1788,  the  first  settlers,  under 
the  Ohio  Land  Company’s  purchase,  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  where  they  proposed  to  lay 


WORKS  AT  JIARIETTA. 


129 


the  foundations  of  a  town,  they  were  astonished  at 
these  evidences  of  former  occupancy  by  a  people  who 
had  some  claims  to  be  ranked  as  civilized.  The  Direc¬ 
tors  passed  a  resolution,  reserving  the  two  truncated 
pyramids  and  the  great  mound,  with  a  few  acres  attached 
to  each,  as  public  squares.  The  latter  is  now  used  as  a 
public  cemetery  ;  and  the  rites  of  Christian  burial,  as 
enacted  there  each  year,  are  probably  not  more  solemn 
and  impressive  than  those  which  were  enacted  upon  the 
same  spot  centuries  ago,  by  a  people  whose  very  name 
and  lineage  have  become  lost. 

These  works,  as  shown  by  the  survey  of  Colonel 
Whittlesey,  occupy  the  river-terrace  or  second  bottom, 
being  bounded  by  the  alluvium  on  the  one  hand  and 
the  hills  on  the  other.  The  area  covered  is  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  long,  and  half  a  mile  broad.  There 
are  two  irregular  squares  —  one  containing  fifty  acres, 
and  the  other  twenty-seven  acres, — together  with  the 
crowning  work  standing  apart,  which  is  a  mound  thirty 
feet  high,  elliptical  in  form,  and  enclosed  by  a  circular 
embankment.  The  walls  of  the  larger  square,  are 
between  five  and  six  feet  high,  and  twenty  or  thirty 
feet  broad  at  the  base.  Within  the  enclosure  are  four 
truncated  pyramids,  three  of  which  have  graded  passage¬ 
ways  to  the  summit.  The  largest  is  one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  feet  long,  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet 
wide,  and  ten  feet  high.  These  pyramidal  forms  are 
interesting,  as  establishing  an  affinity  between  their 
builders  and  those  of  the  Gulf  States,  who,  to  a  great 
extent,  as  has  been  shown,  discarded  the  circular  form. 
From  the  southern  wall  a  graded  way,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  broad,  and  lined  by  embankments  from  eight 
to  ten  feet  high,  extends  for  six  hundred  feet  to  the 
immediate  valley  of  the  Muskingum. 

I 


130 


THE  MOUND-BUILDEES. 


The  walls  bounding  the  smaller  square,  are  less  con¬ 
spicuous,  and  there  is  an  absence  of  all  pyramidal  struct¬ 
ures,  but  at  the  entrance  of  each  gateway  there  is  a 
low  circular  mound.  From  the  central  gateway  in  the 
southeast  wall,  there  is  an  embankment  extending  nearly 
to  the  entrance  of  the  circle  which  encloses  the  great 
mound,  and  to  the  south  and  east,  at  an  early  day, 
similar  embankments  could  be  traced,  crowning  the 
brow  of  the  terrace  which  is  here  delta-shaped. 

The  great  mound  at  Grave  Creek,  West  Virginia,  the 
most  conspicuous  of  all  the  mounds  in  the  Ohio  Valley, 
will  be  described  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  great  mound  near  Miamisburg,  Ohio,  sixty-eight 
feet  high  and  eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  circum¬ 
ference,  far  surpasses  in  dimensions  that  which  the 
Greeks  erected  over  the  body  of  Patroclus : 

“  They,  still  abiding,  heaped  the  pile. 

An  hundred  feet  of  breadth  from  side  to  side 
They  gave  to  it,  and  on  the  summit  placed 
With  sorrowing  hearts  the  body  of  the  dead.” 

G-rottoes  occupied  hy  Mound-builders. —  The  conglom¬ 
erate  at  the  base  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  other  for¬ 
mations  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  often  crop  out  in  bold 
ledges,  and  in  many  places  have  weathered  into  deep 
recesses  with  overhanging  roofs,  thus  forming  grottoes, 
which  were  undoubtedly  used  by  the  Mound-builders 
for  shelter,  and  also  for  sepulchres,  but  it  is  difficult  in 
most  instances,  to  discriminate  between  their  vestiges 
and  those  of  the  modern  Red  man. 

About  two  miles  west  of  Rome,  Perry  County,  Indi¬ 
ana,  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  according  to  MS.  notes  placed 
in  my  possession  by  Professor  E.  T.  Cox,  in  one  of  the 
rock  houses,  formed  by  a  projecting  ledge  of  Sub-car¬ 
boniferous  sandstone,  fifty  feet  in  thickness  without  a 


STONE  FORT  IN  ILLINOIS. 


131 


visible  seam  (interposed  between  the  two  horizons  of 
Archimedes  limestone),  occur  two  ancient  graves,  the 
dimensions  of  which  are  about  4ix2i  feet,  oval  in 
shape,  and  planted  with  flat  stones  sloping  inward, 
which  form  a  perfect  casing  throughout.  One  had  been 
dug  into,  exposing  fragments  of  a  human  skeleton,  but 
the  other  remains  intact.  The  bottom  of  the  rock 
house  is  made  up  of  fragments  of  stone  which  have 
fallen  from  the  overhanging  roof,  intermixed  with  clay. 
This  deposit  has  not  been  penetrated  in  the  search  of 
human  relics.  Without  the  line  of  the  eaves’  drip¬ 
pings,  is  a  mass  of  sandstone,  3x8  feet,  tumbled  from 
above,  in  which,  and  running  with  the  rift,  are  two 
mortar-like  excavations  about  two  feet  apart,  ovoidal 
in  shape,  6x8  inches,  and  tapering  down  to  the  depth 
of  20  inches.  Two  excavations  of  a  similar  character 
were  observed  by  Professor  Cox,  near  Leopold,  and  he 
was  informed  that  others  exist  near  Rome.  Their  posi¬ 
tion  far  above  the  neighboring  streams,  and  their 
direction  in  reference  to  the  bed  rock  of  the  reerion, 
convinced  him  that  they  were  not  “  pot-holes”  formed 
by  an  imprisoned  boulder,  but  that  they  were  of  arti- 
flcial  origin. 

According  to  the  same  authority,  there  is  a  high  hill 
bordering  the  valley  of  the  Saline  River,  in  Illinois,  on 
which  there  is  a  walled  fort,  — the  walls  being  from 
four  to  five  feet  high,  and  enclosing  less  than  an  acre. 
On  the  south  side,  access  is  cut  off  by  a  precipitous 
descent,  in  the  form  of  a  cliff  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in 
height,  but  on  the  north  side,  the  slope  is  gradual  and 
very  rocky.  The  walls  conform  to  the  crest  of  the  hill, 
which  is  very  narrow,  and  the  form  of  the  fortified 
position  is  that  of  an  irregular  square.  Inside  a  number 
of  holes,  now  nearly  filled,  are  seen  which  may  have 


132 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


been  eddies  for  storing  provisions.  A  narrow  and  zig¬ 
zag  passage,  easily  defended,  leads  down  to  the  river. 
The  inhabitants  call  tliis  locality  “  Stone  Fort.” 

The  region  embracing  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash 
River,  in  Indiana,  and  the  Kentucky  shore  opposite, 
including  Greenup  and  Union  Counties,  is  thickly  stud¬ 
ded  with  mounds.  These  were  explored  by  the  late 
Sidney  S.  Lyon,  who  in  a  private  letter  remarks,  that 
he  has  seen  the  works  of  the  Mound-builders  in  many 
States,  but  in  no  other  locality  has  he  ever  seen  anything 
to  compare  in  extent  and  importance  with  those  at  this 
point.  “  If  the  mounds,  ash-heaps,  bone-beds,  etc.,  are 
any  evidence  of  a  formerly  populous  and  settled  country, 
it  is  to  be  found  here.  In  my  examinations,  I  find  nearly 
one  hundred  mounds  in  an  area  of  one  hundred  acres.” 

Proceeding  up  the  valley,  we  find  the  high  banks  of 
the  river  crowned  at  frequent  points,  by  these  ancient 
works.  At  Vincennes,  the  Wabash  is  bordered  by  a 
broad  alluvial  tract,  and  the  bluffs  of  Loess  attain  a 
height  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The  highest 
mounds  occur  near  the  line  of  junction,  and  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  the  builders  shaped  into  form  some  of  the 
knolls  formed  at  a  time  when  the  river  extended  to  the 
foot  of  the  bluffs.  In  1859,  according  to  Mr.  William 
Pidgeon,  it  became  necessary  to  remove  a  mound  on 
the  alluvial  tract  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  It  Avas 
about  sixteen  feet  in  height,  with  a  diameter  of  sixty- 
six  feet,  and  a  section  exhibited  five  distinct  strata. 
The  first  or  lowest,  consisted  of  a  bed  of  human  bones, 
arranged  in  a  circle,  eighteen  feet  in  diameter,  closely 
pressed  together.  Around  the  outer  edge  of  this  circle, 
the  stratum  was  thinner  than  in  the  centre.  Skulls, 
tibiae,  ribs,  and  vertebrae  were  promiscuously  mingled,  as 
though  a  pile  of  bodies  had  been  heaped  up.  Over  chis 


FORT  AZATLAN,  INDIANA. 


133 


was  a  uniform  layer  of  tough  greyish  clay,  thirty-three 
inches  in  thickness,  succeeded  by  a  layer  of  what 
appeared  to  have  been  ashes,  with  occasional  fragments 
of  bone ;  and  above  this  a  twelve  inch  stratum  of  sur¬ 
face  soil ;  and  the  whole  was  covered  with  clay.  From 
the  numerous  skeletons  disclosed  in  this  excavation, 
and  the  promiscuous  manner  in  which  they  were  mingled, 
Mr.  Pidgeon  was  disposed  to  regard  this  as  a  “  battle- 
burial  mound.”* 

The  ancient  works  at  Merom  have  been  so  elaborately 
described  by  Mr.  F.  W.  Putnam,  in  the  “  Bulletin  of  the 
Essex  Institute,”!  that  for  the  purpose  of  illustration,  I 
shall  incorporate  the  greater  portion  of  his  description. 
I  do  this  for  the  additional  reason  that  these  mounds 
have  yielded  a  number  of  skulls  of  a  peculiar  conforma¬ 
tion,  which  will  form  the  basis  of  certain  ethnic  specu¬ 
lations  as  to  the  character  of  the  Mound-builder,  and 
his  affiliation  Avith  other  distant  and  widely-disseminated 
peoples ;  and  therefore,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  structures, 
and  the  conditions  under  which  these  skulls  were  found, 
I  am  happy  to  avail  myself  of  the  observations  of  so 
competent  an  observer. 

“  The  fort  is  situated  on  a  plateau  of  Loess,  about 
170  feet  in  height  above  low  water,  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  river.  On  the  river  side,  the  bank,  which  princi¬ 
pally  consists  of  an  outcrop  of  sandstone,  is  very  steep, 
and  forms  the  western  line  of  the  fortification,  while 
deep  ravines  add  to  its  strength  on  the  other  sides ;  the 
weak  points  being  strengthened  by  earthworks.  The 
general  course  of  the  work  is  from  the  north,  where 
it  is  very  narrow,  not  over  fifty  feet,  owing  to  the 
formation  of  the  plateau,  south  along  the  river  bank 

*  "  Smithsonian  Reports.”  1867. 

f  Vol.  iii.  No.  II.  Nov.  1871. 


134 


THE  MOUND- BUILDERS. 


Plan  of  the  Works  at  Fort  Azatlan, 

On  the  Wabash  River,  at  Merom,  Indiana,  reduced  from  a  plan  executed 
by  J.  H.  Emerton,  assisted  by  Messrs.  Kearns  and  Collett. 


FORT  AZATLAN,  INDIANA. 


135 


about  725  feet  to  its  widest  portion  (at  h)  which  is 
here  about  375  feet  east  and  west.  From  this  point  it 
follows  a  deep  ravine  southerly  about  460  feet  to  the 
entrance  end  of  the  fort.  The  bank  traversed  by  the 
entrance  road  is  here  much  wider  than  at  other  por¬ 
tions,  and  along  its  outer  wall,  running  eastward,  are 
the  remains  of  what  was  evidently  once  a  deep  ditch. 
The  outer  wall  (a,  b)  is  about  30  feet  wide  and  is  now 
about  li  feet  high ;  a  depressed  portion  of  the  bank, 
or  walk-way  then  ruiiij  parallel  with  the  outer  wall,  and 
the  bank  (c,  d)  is  then  continued  for  about  twenty  feet 
farther  into  the  fort,  but  of  slightly  less  height  than  the 
front.  Through  the  centre  of  these  banks  there  are 
the  remains  of  a  distinct  road-way  about  ten  feet  in 
width. 

“  From  the  northeastern  corner  of  this  wide  wall 
the  line  continues  northwesterly  about  350  feet,  along 
the  eastern  ravine  to  a  point  where  there  is  a  spring, 
and  the  ravine  makes  an  indenture  of  nearly  100 
feet  to  the  southwest.  The  mouth  of  the  indenture  is 
about  seventy-five  feet  in  width  and  the  work  is  here 
strengthened  by  a  double  embankment  (e,  f).  The 
natural  line  of  the  work  follows  this  indenture  and  then 
continues  in  about  the  same  northerly  course  along  the 
banks  of  the  ravine,  to  the  narrow  portion  of  the  plateau 
about  550  feet  to  the  starting  point. 

“  There  is  thus  a  continued  line,  in  part  natural  and 
in  part  artificial,  which  if  measured  in  all  its  little  ins 
and  outs  would  not  be  far  from  2450  feet. 

“  Besides  the  spring  mentioned  as  in  the  indenture  of 
the  eastern  ravine,  there  is  another  spring  in  the  same 
ravine  about  175  feet  to  the  north  of  the  first,  and  a 
third  in  the  southwestern  ravine  about  125  feet  to  the 
west  of  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  work. 


136 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


“  Looking  at  all  the  natural  advantages  offered  by 
this  location  it  is  the  one  spot  of  the  region,  for  several 
miles  along  the  river,  that  would  be  selected  to-day  for 
the  erection  of  a  fortification  in  the  vicinity,  with  the 
addition  of  the  possession  of  a  small  eminence  to  the 
north,  which  in  these  days  of  artillery  would  command 
this  fort.  Having  this  view  in  mind,  a  careful  examina¬ 
tion  was  made  of  the  eminence  mentioned,  to  see  if 
there  had  ever  been  an  opposing  or  protective  work 
there,  but  not  the  slightest  indication  of  earthwork 
fortification  or  of  mounds  of  habitation  was  discovered. 
.  .  .  On  crossing  the  outer  wall,  a  few  low  mounds 

are  at  once  noticed,  and  all  around  are  seen  large  cir¬ 
cular  depressions.  At  the  southern  portion  of  the  fort, 
these  depressions,  of  which  there  are  forty-five  in  all, 
are  most  numerous,  thirty-seven  of  them  being  located 
south  of  a  line  drawn  from  E  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
indenture  of  the  eastern  ravine  to  the  projecting  extreme 
western  point  of  the  fort  at  H. 

“  These  depressions  vary  in  width  from  ten  to  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  feet,  and  are  irregularly  arranged,  as  shown 
by  the  accompanying  engraving,  where  they  are  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  black  circles.  One  of  the  six  depressions 
opposite  the  indenture  of  the  eastern  ravine  is  oval  in 
shape,  and  is  the  only  one  that  is  not  nearly  circular, 
the  others  varying  but  a  foot  or  two  in  their  diameters. 

“  Two  of  these  depressions  were  dug  into,  and  it  was 
found  that  they  were  evidently  once  large  pits  that  had 
gradually  been  filled  by  the  hand  of  time  with  the 
accumulation  of  vegetable  matter  and  soil  that  had  been 
deposited  by  natural  action  alone.  In  some  instances 
large  trees  are  now  growing  in  the  pits,  and  their  many 
roots  make  digging  difficult.  A  trench  was  dug  across 
one  pit  (j)  throwing  out  the  soil  carefully  until  the  for- 


FORT  AZATLAN,  INDIANA. 


137 


mer  bottom  was  reached  at  a  depth  of  about  five  feet. 
On  this  bottom,  ashes  and  burnt  ^lay  gave  evidence  of 
an  ancient  fire,  and  at  a  few  feet  on  one  side,  several 
pieces  of  pottery,  a  few  bones  of  animals,  and  one  stone 
arrow-head  were  found.  A  spot  had  evidently  been 
struck  where  food  had  been  cooked  and  eaten,  and 
though  there  was  not  time  to  open  other  pits,  there  is 
no  doubt  but  that  they  would  tell  a  similar  story,  and 
the  legitimate  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  facts  is, 
that  these  pits  were  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants  or 
defenders  of  the  fort,  who  were  probably  further  pro¬ 
tected  from  the  elements  and  the  arrows  of  assailants, 
by  a  roof  of  logs  and  bark  or  boughs.  The  great  num¬ 
ber  of  the  pits  would  show  that  they  were  for  a  definite 
and  general  purpose,  and  their  irregular  arrangement 
would  indicate  that  they  were  not  laid  out  with  the  sole 
idea  of  acting  as  places  of  defence,  though  those  near 
the  walls  of  the  fort  might  answer  as  covers  from  which 
to  fire  on  an  opposing  force  beyond  the  walls  ;  and  the 
six  pits  near  the  eastern  indenture,  in  front  of  three 
of  which  there  are  ti’aces  of  two  small  earth-walls, 
would  strengthen  this  view  of  the  use  of  those  near  the 
embankment. 

“  The  five  small  mounds  were  situated  in  various 
parts  of  the  enclosure.  The  largest  (G)  wms  nearly 
fifty  feet  in  diameter  and  was  probably  originally  not 
over  ten  feet  in  height.  It  had  been  very  nearly  dug 
away  in  places,  but  about  one-fifth  of  the  lower  portion 
had  not  been  disturbed.  From  this  was  exhumed  one 
nearly  perfect  human  skeleton  and  parts  of  several 
others  that  had  been  left  by  former  excavators.  This 
mound  also  contained  several  bones  of  animals,  princi¬ 
pally  of  deer,  bear,  opossum,  and  turtles  ;  fragments  of 
pottery,  one  arrow-head,  a  few  flint  chips,  and  a  number 


138 


THE  MOtJND-BIJILDBES. 


of  thick  shells  of  Unios,  two  of  which  had  been  bored 
near  the  hinge.  This  mound  has  yielded  a  number  of 
human  bones  to  the  industry  of  Dr.  H.  Frank  Harper. 

“  The  second  mound  (i)  which  was  partly  opened, 
.was  some  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter  and  a  few  feet  in 
height,  though  probably  once  much  higher.  In  this,  a 
number  of  bones  of  deer  and  other  animals  were  found, 
several  pieces  of  pottery,  a  number  of  shells,  and  a 
few  human  bones.  The  other  three  mounds,  one  of 
which  is  not  over  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  diameter  and 
situated  the  furthest  to  the  north,  were  not  examined 
internally. 

“  The  position  of  all  the  mounds,  within  the  enclos¬ 
ure,  which  are  indicated  by  the  white  circles  on  the 
cut,  is  such  as  to  suggest  that  they  were  used  as  observ¬ 
atories,  and  it  may  yet  be  questioned  if  the  human  and 
other  remains  found  in  them  were  placed  there  by  the 
occupants  of  the  fort,  or  are  to  be  considered  under  the 
head  of  intrusive  burials  by  the  later  race.  Perhaps  a 
further  study  of  the  bones  may  settle  the  point.  That 
two  races  have  buried  their  dead  within  the  enclosure 
is  made  probable  by  the  finding  of  an  entirely  different 
class  of  burials  at  the  extreme  western  point  of  the 
fortification,  indicated  on  the  engraving  by  the  three 
quadrangular  figures  at  H.  At  this  point,  Dr.  Harper, 
the  year  previous,  had  discovered  three  stone  graves, 
in  which  he  found  portions  of  the  skeletons  of  two 
adults  and  one  child.  These  graves,  the  stones  of  one 
being  still  in  place,  were  found  to  be  made  by  placing 
thin  slabs  on  end,  forming  the  sides  and  ends,  the  tops 
being  covered  by  other  slabs,  making  a  rough  stone 
coffin  in  which  the  bodies  had  been  placed.  There  was 
no  indication  of  any  mound  having  been  erected,  and 
they  were  placed  slightly  on  the  slope  of  the  bank. 


O" 

0^3 


0=2 


Fig.  10a. 


Hutsonville  (Illinois)  Mounds. 
From  a  Plan  by  J.  H.  Kmerton. 


139 


140 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


This  kind  of  burial  is  so  distinct  from  that  of  the  burials 
in  the  mound,  that  it  is  possible  that  the  acts  may  be 
referred  to  two  distinct  races  who  have  occupied  the  ^ 
territory  successively,  though  they  may  prove  to  be 
of  the  same  time  and  simply  indicate  a  special  mode 
adopted  for  a  distinctive  purpose.” 

“  A  group  of  fifty-nine  mounds,”  according  to  the 
same  authority,  “  is  to  be  seen  a  few  miles  up  the  river 
from  Merom,  on  the  Illinois  side.  The  relative  position 
and  size  of  the  mounds  in  this  group  are  shown  by  the 
preceding  cut,  from  a  plan  made  by  Mr.  Emerton, 
assisted  by  Mr.  Collett.  This  group  commences  just 
beyond  the  river-terrace,  and  widens  out  to  the  east 
and  west,  covering  a  distance  of  about  1,000  feet  from 
the  mound,  on  the  extreme  east  to  that  furthest  west, 
and  continues  southward,  back  from  the  river,  on  the 
second,  or  prairie-terrace,  some  1,400  or  1,500  feet. 

The  greater  number  of  the  mounds  forming  the  group 
are  situated  in  the  northern  half  of  the  territory  covered, 
while  only  ten  are  on  the  south  of  this  central  line. 

The  mounds  are  very  irregularly  dispersed  over  the 
territory  included  in  the  limits  mentioned,  and  vary  in 
size  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  feet  to  forty-five  or  fifty 
in  diameter,  and  are  now  from  a  foot  and  a  half  to  five 
feet  in  height,  though  probably  formerly  much  higher. 
Four  of  the  mounds  at  the  southern  portion  of  the  group 
were  surrounded  by  a  low  ridge,  now  somewhat  indis¬ 
tinct,  but  still  in  places  about  a  foot  in  height.  These 
ridges  are  composed  of  dirt,  evidently  scooped  up  from 
round  the  base  of  the  mound,  as  between  the  ridge  and 
the  mound  there  is  still  a  slight  and  even  depression. 

The  ridges  about  the  two  southernmost  mounds  (o,  p) 
have  openings  nearly  facing  each  other,  while  the  one 
to  the  north  of  them  (m)  has  the  ridge  broken  on  both 


HUTSONVILLE  MOUNDS. 


141 


the  eastern  and  western  sides,  and  the  one  still  farther 
to  the  north  (u)  has  the  ridge  entire. 

“  In  referring  to  this  group  of  mounds  I  have  called 
them  mounds  of  habitation,  and  it  seems  as  if  that  was 
most  likely  to  have  been  their  use.  First,  from  the 
character  of  the  surrounding  country,  which  is  level, 
and  only  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  above  the 
present  river,  with  every  indication  of  a  clear,  damp 
soil  in  former  times,  though  now  the  part  not  under 
cultivation  is  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  trees, 
several  large  trees  even  growing  immediately  on  some 
of  the  mounds.  What  would  be  more  natural  to  per¬ 
sons  wishing  to  avail  themselves  of  this  terrace-prairie 
and  proximity  to  the  river,  than  to  make  a  mound  on 
which  to  erect  their  dwelling  ? 

“  Secondly,  their  great  variation  in  size  and  irregu¬ 
larity  in  position,  would  indicate  that  a  number  of  per¬ 
sons  had  got  together  for  some  common  purpose,  and 
each  family,  working  with  a  common  view  to  provide 
for  certain  ends,  had  erected  a  mound,  varying  in  size 
according  to  the  number  at  work  upon  it,  or  the  degree 
of  industry  with  which  its  makers  worked  during  the 
time  at  their  disposal. 

“  Thirdly,  four  of  the  mounds,  marked  K,  M,  N  and  o 
on  the  cut,  were  most  carefully  examined,  to  ascertain 
if  they  were  places  of  burial,  one  of  them  (k)  being 
opened  by  digging  a  trench  through  it  some  three  or 
four  feet  in  width,  and  to  a  depth  of  about  one  to  two 
feet  below  the  level  of  the  surface  on  which  the  mound 
was  built.  The  other  three  were  opened  from  the  top, 
by  digging  down  in  the  centre  until  the  original  under¬ 
lined  surface  was  reached.  None  of  these  excavations 
brought  a  single  bone,  or  an  implement  of  any  kind  to 
light,  but,  on  the  contrary,  showed  that  the  mounds 


142 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


had  been  made  of  various  materials  at  hand,  and  in  one 
case  ashes  were  found  which  had  probably  been  scraped 
up  with  other  material  and  thrown  upon  the  heap. 

“  Fourthly,  the  ridges  surrounding  four  of  the  mounds 
may  be  the  dirt  thrown  up  to  help  support  a  palisade, 
or  stake  fence  enclosing  these  particular  mounds  for 
some  special  purpose.  The  absence  of  human  remains 
and  all  refuse  in  the  shape  of  ‘  kitchen-heaps,’  as  well 
as  implements,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  place 
was  not  inhabited  for  any  great  length  of  time,  and 
that  it  may  have  been  simply  a  place  of  resort  at  spe¬ 
cial  seasons,  or  for  some  particular  purpose.  That  the 
mounds,  are  of  quite  ancient  date  there  can  be  no  ques¬ 
tion  ;  but  beyond  the  fact  that  at  least  a  second  growth 
of  trees  has  taken  place  on  some  of  them,  we  have  no 
data  for  indicating  their  age.”  * 

Mr.  John  Collett,  in  his  report  of  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Sullivan  County,  in  which  Merom  is  situated, 
remarks:  “Numerous  earth- works  are  found  in  this 
region  of  such  an  extent  as  to  require  for  their  con¬ 
struction  time  and  the  persistent  labor  of  many  people. 
Situated  on  the  river-bluffs,  their  location  combines 
picturesque  scenery,  susceptibility  for  defence,  and  con¬ 
venience  to  transportation,  water,  and  productive  lands. 
These  are  not  requisites  in  the  nomadic  life  of  the  Red 
men,  and  identify  the  Mound-builders  as  a  partly  civilized 
agricultural  people. 

“  Over  one  hundred  small  mounds,  from  two  to  four 
feet  high,  may  be  seen  about  one  mile  northwest  of 
Middletown.  On  the  Hunt  farm,  conical  knolls  of 
Loess  have  been  artificially  rounded,  and  used  for  sepul¬ 
chral  purposes.  On  Mr.  Drake’s  farm,  are  two  large 

*  Putnam,  “  Proceedings  Boston  Society  Natural  History,”  Feb.  7, 
1872,  pp.  32-35. 


MOUNDS  AT  LAPORTE. 


143 


mounds,  one  two  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  and  eighteen 
feet  high  ;  the  other,  twenty-eight  feet  high,  and  cover¬ 
ing  an  elliihical  base,  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  wide, 
and  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long.”  * 

Mounds  occur  near  Covington  and  to  the  north  of 
Attica ;  in  fact,  the  whole  valley  of  the  Wabash  must 
have  been,  in  former  times,  the  seat  of  a  numerous 
population,  forming  as  it  did  the  great  artery  of  com¬ 
munication  between  the  Ohio  River  and  the  Lake  Region 
to  the  north. 

Passing  over  the  low  water-shed  between  the  Wabash 
and  the  Kankakee,  the  mounds  reappear  in  the  valley 
of  the  latter  stream.  About  twelve  miles  from  Laporte, 
on  the  banks  of  a  small  tributary  of  the  Kankakee,  there 
are  not  less  than  twenty  in  number,  some  of  which  have 
been  explored  by  Dr.  Higday,  with  highly  satisfactory 
results.  He  found  that,  at  different  times,  the  farmers 
of  the  vicinity  had  dug  into  four  of  them,  and  had  taken 
out  two  copper  hatchets,  a  piece  of  galena,  two  imperfect 
earthen  vessels,  and  one  skull,  all  of  which  he  was  enabled 
to  secure.  On  further  examination,  he  was  enabled  to 
recover  the  enamel  of  a  human  molar  tooth  and  a  pipe 
representing  a  female  figure.  “  Selecting  a  tumulus 
ten  feet  high,”  he  continues,  “  we  sank  a  pit  thirteen 
feet  deep,  where  we  struck  the  skeletons  of  two  adults 
and  one  child.  Near  the  heads  we  found  an  earthen 
vessel  containing  black  mould,  a  pipe  representing  a 
bear  (puma?),  several  large  pieces  of  mica,  a  piece  of 
galena,  two  copper  needles  (awls),  a  piece  of  plate-cop¬ 
per,  and  two  rude  copper  hatchets.  We  next  excavated 
two  mounds  each  about  six  feet  in  height,  but  found 
nothing.  The  fourth  one  examined,  originally,  perhaps, 
about  twenty  feet  in  height,  bad  been  partially  under- 

*  “Second  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Indiana,”  p.  237. 


144 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


mined  and  washed  away  by  the  creek.  We  found  under 
this,  an  adult  skeleton,  a  copper  needle  (awl),  several 
flint  knives,  and  an  earthen  vessel  filled  with  black 
mould  and  numerous  pieces  of  tortoise  shell.  In  the 
last  one  explored,  which  was  over  fifteen  feet  in  height, 
a  channel  was  cut  down  through  the  centre  with  teams 
and  scrapers.  A  horizontal  layer  of  ashes,  two  inches  thick 
in  the  middle,  and  thinning  out  towards  the  circumfer¬ 
ence,  was  struck,  thirteen  feet  from  the  top.  Thr^e  feet 
below  the  ashes,  we  came  upon  a  pipe,  a  copper  needle, 
pieces  of  pottery,  and  two  adult  skeletons,  one  of  which 
was  nearly  entire,  lying  upon  what  must  have  been  a  log  of 
wood,  but  now  so  decayed  that  it  could  be  readily  pulver¬ 
ized  by  the  hand.  Only  one  small  piece  of  shell  was 
found,  which  proves  to  be  the  Cardmm  magnum^  and 
which  must  have  been  brought  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
as  this  species  does  not  exist  at  a  nearer  point.  The 
fact  that  both  the  earthen  vessels  were  full  of  a  black 
mould,  and  that  one  of  them,  also,  contained  numerous 
pieces  of  tortoise  shell,  may  indicate  that  they  were 
filled,  when  buried,  with  food  for  the  departed.”  * 

Ancient  works  of  Northern  Ohio  and  Western  New  York. 
—  The  region  adjacent  to  Lake  Erie,  comprehending 
Northern  Ohio  and  Western  New  York,  contains  ancient 
earthworks  which  differ  somewhat  from  those  of  the 
Ohio  Valley.  There  is  the  same  combination  of  mound 
and  enclosure,  but  with  the  ditch  invariably  on  the  out¬ 
side  of  the  parapets.  Squier  was  disposed  to  regard  these 
works  as  much  more  recent  than  those  of  the  true  Mound- 
builders,  in  fact,  as  belonging  to  the  Iroquois.  Colonel 
Whittlesey,  however,  claims  for  them  as  high  an 
antiquity,  but  belonging  to  a  different  nation.  He 
would  classify  the  ancient  works  into  three  great  divi- 

*  Communication  to  “  The  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences.”  1870. 


THEIR  UNITY  OF  ORIGIN. 


145 


sions,  and  assign  their  construction  to  three  distinct 
nations:  1,  Those  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  as  the  works  of 
the  Agricultural  Nation;  2,  Those  of  the  Fort-builders 
on  the  Lakes,  as  those  of  the  Military  Nation  ;  3,  Those 
between  the  Mississippi  and  Lake  Michigan,  as  those 
of  the  Nffiyy  Nation.* 

I  hardly  see  the  necessity  for  this  assignment,  for  the 
Fort-building  people  penetrated  to  the  Ohio  River,  as 
shown  by  some  of  the  surveys  given  by  Sc^uier  and 
Davis ;  and  as  I  write,  I  have  before  me  a  recent  letter 
from  Professor  E.  B.  Andrews,  one  of  the  Geologists  of 
the  Ohio  Survey,  in  which  he  describes  an  earthwork 
recently  discovered  by  him  in  Vinton  County,  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State,  with  the  ditch  outside  the 
parapet.  Recognizing  these  minor  distinctions,  it  might 
be  claimed  that  the  earthworks  of  the  Upper  Mississi^ipi 
were  constructed  by  a  different  people,  for  the  reason 
that  all  the  mounds  are  destitute  of  enclosures  ;  and 
that  those  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  were  the  work  of 
still  another  people,  because  the  truncated-pyramidal 
form  predominates,  and  are  rarely  enclosed.  In  what 
may  be  called  the  frontier  of  the  Mound-builders’ 
empire,  as  I  shall  endeavor  to  show,  it  became  necessary 
to  fortify  against  sudden  irruptions  of  the  enemy,  and 
hence  the  enclosures  ;  but  as  we  penetrate  tlie  heart  of 
the  empire,  these  structures  disappear.  If  our  country 
were  to  become  a  desolation,  the  future  antiquary  would 
find  the  sea-coast  studded  with  fortifications  of  a  com- 
plex  form,  and  as  he  penetrated  to  the  interior,  they 
would  disappear  altogether.  Hence,  in  tracing  national 
affinities,  the  ethnologist  should  not  hastily  ascribe  to 
different  races,  structures  which  show  a  very  consider- 

*“  Ancient  Fort-works  of  the  Cuyahoga  Valley,  ”  by  Charles  Whittle¬ 
sey,  p.  5, 

K 


146 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


able  divergence  in  form,  and  which  grew  out  of  condi¬ 
tions,  not  applicable  to  the  whole  country. 

Ancient  works  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  —  The 
banks  of  the  Colorado  Chiquito,  according  to  Mr. 
Leroux,  as  quoted  by  Lieutenant  Whipple,  are  covered 
with  the  ruins  of  stone  houses  and  regular  fortifications, 
which  appear  to  have  been  the  work  of  civilized  men, 
but  which  have  not  been  occupied  for  centuries.  They 
are  built  upon  the  most  fertile  tracts  in  the  valley, 
where  there  are  signs  of  acequias  and  of  cultivation. 
The  walls  are  of  solid  masonry,  of  rectangular  form, 
some  twenty  to  thhty  paces  in  length,  and  yet  remain¬ 
ing  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  height.  The  buildings  were 
of  two  stories,  with  small  apertures  or  loop-holes, 
for  defence  when  besieged.  The  style  of  building 
seems  to  be  similar  to  the  cliichitacle  or  red  house, 
above  the  Pimas,  rather  than  like  the  Indian  towns  of 
New  Mexico.  The  large  stones  of  which  they  are 
built  were  often  transported  from  a  great  distance. 

At  another  place,  he  saw  a  well-built  town  and 
fortification,  about  eight  or  ten  miles  from  the  nearest 
water,  and  he  inferred  that  the  climate  of  the  country, 
since  their  construction,  had  changed  so  as  to  con¬ 
vert  springs  and  a  fertile  soil  into  a  dry  and  barren 
waste. 

Extensive  traces  of  ancient  ruins  in  this  region  have 
been  observed  and  well  represented  in  the  report  of 
Captain  Sitgreaves.  The  Cosnino  caves,  according  to 
this  authority,  had  been  plastered  with  mortar,  showing 
more  artistic  skill  than  is  practised  by  the  present  occu¬ 
pants  of  the  country.  At  Pueblo  Creek  were  found 
remains  of  towns  and  fortifications  crowning  the  sur¬ 
rounding  heights  ;  and  overlooking  Aztec  Pass  are  simi¬ 
lar  ruins.  Westward,  down  Williams  River  to  the  Rio 


RUINS  IN  NEW  MEXICO. 


147 


Colorado,  and  thence  to  the  Pacific,  no  vestiges  of 
such  ruins  were  seen.* 

Lieutenant  Whipple,  in  the  report  before  referred  to, 
describes  many  ruins  of  ancient  workmanship,  which 
fell  under  his  own  observation.! 

At  El  Moro,  on  the  top  of  a  sandstone  cliff,  are  the 
remains  of  an  ancient  pueblo,  the  walls  of  which  still 
remain  ^lerfect  to  the  height  of  six  or  eight  feet  —  ver¬ 
tical,  straight,  and  smooth.  The  masonry  is  well  done, 
the  stones  being  of  uniform  size,  about  fourteen  inches 
in  length,  and  six  inches  wide.  The  layers  are  hori¬ 
zontal,  and  each  successive  layer,  with  some  appearance 
of  regularity,  breaks  joints  with  that  below.  The 
beams,  whose  ends  seem  to  have  been  mangled  by  a 
stone  axe  rather  than  cut  with  a  sharp  instrument,  are 
of  cedar,  and  in  excellent  preservation.  Arrow-heads  of 
obsidian  and  colored  pottery  abound.  “  Old  Zuni  ”  he 
describes  as  presenting  a  mass  of  crumbling  walls,  from 
two  to  twelve  feet  high,  and  extending  over  several 
acres  of  ground.  He  found  that  the  standing  walls 
rested  upon  ruins  of  still  greater  antiquity,  which  must 
have  been  about  six  feet  thick.  These  ruined  cities  are, 
no  doubt,  more  recent  than  the  mounds  of  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  Valley,  and  were  built  by  the  ancestors  of  the 
present  occupants  of  the  region. 

The  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico,  who,  it  has  been 
conjectured,  may  be  a  remnant  of  the  ancient  Aztecs, 
present  in  their  habits  strong  contrasts  to  most  of  the 
other  tribes.  As  described  by  Whipple,  J  “  they  remain 
living  in  towns,  irrigating  and  cultivating  the  soil,  nearly 

*“ Pacific  Railroad  Reports,”  vol.  iii.,  Art.  “Indian  Tribes,”  pp.  14 
and  15. 

f  Ibidem,  part  i.,  pp.  63,  6g. 

X  “  Pacific  Railroad  Survey,”  vol.  iii..  Art.  “  Indian  Tribes,”  p.  9  et.  seq. 


148 


THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS. 


in  tlie  same  manner  as  was  their  custom  previous  to  the 
Spanish  Conquest.  .  .  .  For  the  greater  part  of  two  cen¬ 
turies  they  have  been  characterized  by  peaceful  dispo¬ 
sitions,  and  noted  for  honesty  and  sobriety . 

Although  most  friendly  in  their  intercourse  with  their 
white  neighbors,  they  live  exclusively  by  themselves, 
and  neither  intermarry  with,  nor  adopt  the  habits  of, 
any  other  race.  They  anticipate  a  return  to  them  of 
the  prosperity  which  their  traditions  commemorate  as 
belonging  to  the  Saturnalian  or  Montezuma  Era.”  * 

They  claim  to  be  descendants  of  the  great  Mexican 
emperor,  who,  born  at  Acoma,  where  their  ancestors 
dwelt,  became  a  leader  and  guide  in  their  subsequent 
migration.  He  taught  them  to  build  pueblos  with 
lofty  houses  and  estufas,  and  to  kindle  sacred  fires,  to 
be  guarded  by  priests.  Acoma  was  strongly  built 
and  fortified,  and  Pecos  was  one  qf  the  principal  towns. 
From  the  latter  place  Montezuma  continued  his  march 
southward,  founding  pueblos  far  and  wide,  and  finally 
established  himself  on  the  throne  of  Mexico. 

Ancient  works  qf  the  Atlantic  Coast. — There  are  few 
authentic  vestiges  of  the  Mound-builders  on  the  Atlan¬ 
tic  sea-board.  Some  ancient  structures  are  to  be  seen 
on  the  banks  of  the  Wateree  River,  near  Camden, 
South  Carolina,  consisting  of  circular  walls  enclosing  a 
group  of  low  mounds.  These  are  described  by  Dr. 
William  Blanding,  in  a  letter  to  the  late  Dr.  Morton, 
of  Philadelphia,  f 

In  the  mountainous  region  of  North  Carolina,  as  I 
shall  show  elsewhere,  were  situated  the  great  mica 
mines,  yielding  a  mineral  which  entered  largely  into  the 

*  As  to  the  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico,  at  the  time 
of  the  Spanish  Conquest,  see  Appendix  D. 

f  Quoted  in  the  “  Ancient  Monuments,”  etc.,  p.  105. 


BURIAL  CASES. 


149 


trappings  of  the  Mound-builder.  In  this  secluded  re¬ 
gion,  secluded  even  at  this  day,  with  all  our  railroad 
facilities  —  for  it  can  only  be  reached  by  a  rough  ride 
of  two  days  on  horseback,  —  we  meet  with  the  graves  of 
this  mysterious  race,  differing  somewhat  in  their  mode 
of  construction  from  those  at  distant  points.  To  Mr. 
Silas  McDowell,  a  gentleman  who  has  resided  in  this 
region  (Franklin,  jNIacon  County)  for  more  than  lialf  a 
century,  I  am  indebted  for  the  subjoined  information. 

Up  to  1819  the  Cherokees  lield  possession  of  this 
region,  when,  in  pursuance  of  a  treaty,  they  vacated  a 
portion  of  the  lands  lying  in  the  valley  of  the  Little 
Tennessee  River.  In  1821  Mr.  McDowell  commenced 
farming.  During  the  first  season's  operations,  the 
plough-share,  in  passing  over  a  certain  portion  of  a 
field,  produced  a  hollow,  rumbling  sound,  and,  in 
exploring  for  the  cause,  the  first  object  met  with  was  a 
shallow  layer  of  charcoal,  beneath  which  was  a  slab  of 
burnt  clay,  about  seven  feet  in  length  and  four  feet 
broad,  which  in  the  attempt  to  remove,  broke  into  sev¬ 
eral  fragments.  Nothing  beneath  this  slab  was  found, 
but  on  examining  its  under  side,  to  his  great  surprise, 
there  was  the  mould  of  a  naked  human  figure.  Three 
of  these  burned  clay  sepulchres  were  thus  raised  and 
examined  during  the  first  year  of  his  occupancy,  since 
Avhich  time  none  have  been  found  until  recently. 
These  fragments  were  so  little  appreciated  that  they 
were  suffered  to  remain  in  the  field,  subject  to  the  dis¬ 
integrating  agency  of  the  elements  and  the  tramping 
of  cattle.  During  the  past  season  (1872)  the  plough 
brought  up  another  fragment  of  one  of  these  moulds, 
revealing  the  impress  of  a  plump  human  arm. 

Colonel  C.  W.  Jenkes,  the  superintendent  of  the 
corundum  mines  which  have  recently  been  opened  in 


150 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


that  vicinity,  advises  me  thus:  “We  have  Indians  all 
about  us,  with  traditions  extending  back  for  five  hun¬ 
dred  years.  In  this  time  they  have  buried  their  dead 
under  huge  piles  of  stones.  We  have  at  one  point 
the  remains  of  six  hundred  warriors  under  one  pile ; 
but  a  grave  has  just  been  opened  of  the  following  con¬ 
struction  :  A  pit  was  dug  into  which  the  corpse  was 
placed,  face  upwards  ;  then  over  it  was  moulded  a 
covering  of  mortar,  fitting  the  form  and  features.  On 
this  was  built  a  hot  fire,  which  formed  an  entire  shield 
of  pottery  for  the  corpse.  The  breaking  up  of  one 
such  tomb  gives  a  perfect  cast  of  the  form  of  the  occu¬ 
pant.” 

Colonel  Jenkes,  fully  impressed  with  the  value  of 
these  archaeological  discoveries,  detailed  a  man  to 
superintend  the  exhumation,  who  proceeded  to  remove 
the  earth  from  the  mould,  which  he  reached  through  a 
layer  of  charcoal,  and  then  with  a  trowel,  excavated 
beneath  it.  The  clay  was  not  thoroughly  baked,  and 
no  impression  of  the  corpse  was  left,  except  of  the 
forehead  and  that  portion  of  the  limbs  between  the 
ankles  and  the  knees,  and  even  these  portions  of  the 
mould  crumbled.  The  body  had  been  placed  east  and 
west,  the  head  towards  the  east.  “  I  had  hoped,” 
continues  Mr.  McDowell,  “  that  the  cast  in  the  clay 
would  be  as  perfect  as  one  that  I  found  fifty-one  years 
ago,  a  fragment  of  which  I  presented  to  Colonel  Jenkes, 
with  the  impression  of  a  part  of  the  arm  on  one  side, 
and  on  the  other  of  the  fingers  that  had  pressed  down 
the  soft  clay  upon  the  body  interred  beneath.” 

The  Mound-builders  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  as  has  been 
shown,  often  placed  a  layer  of  clay  over  the  dead, 
but  not  in  immediate  contact,  upon  which  they  builded 
fires ;  and  the  evidences  that  cremation  was  often 


WORKS  ON  PACIFIC  COAST. 


151 


resorted  to  in  their  disposition  are  too  abundant  to  be 
gainsaid.  The  recovery  of  a  perfect  mould  of  a 
Mould-builder’s  form  would  be  a  matter  of  the  highest 
scientific  interest ;  as  much  so  as  of  those  Roman  forms 
whose  impress  has  been  left  on  the  volcanic  ashes 
that  settled  down  upon  the  ill-fated  Pompeii  nearly 
two  thousand  years  ago. 

No  authentic  works  of  the  Mound-builders  have  been 
found  in  the  other  Atlantic  States.  There  is  a  mound 
of  considerable  elevation  in  the  valley  of  the  Kenne¬ 
bec,  in  Maine,  and  traces  of  enclosures  exist  near  San¬ 
born  and  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  but  their  origin  is 
involved  in  doubt. 

Ancient  works  on  the  Pacific  Coast. — It  has  been 
supposed  that  the  Pacific  Coast  contained  no  pre-his- 
toric  remains,  but  Wilkes,  in  his  narrative  of  the 
Exploring  Expedition,  describes  groups  of  mounds  as 
occurring  on  the  Bute  Prairies  of  Oregon :  “  They 

are  conical,  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  about  six  or  eight 
feet  above  the  level,  and  many  thousands  in  number.”  * 

From  a  British  Columbia  newspaper  of  recent  date, 
I  quote  the  following :  “  There  is  a  large  mound,  three 
hundred  feet  high  and  three  hundred  yards  in  diameter 
at  the  base,  f  at  the  southern  end  of  the  prairie,  about 
tAventy-five  miles  from  Olympia,  and  scattered  over  the 
prairie  for  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles  are  many  smaller 
mounds,  not  more  than  four  feet  high  and  twenty  or 
thirty  in  diameter.  Many  conjectures  have  been  made 
in  the  last  twenty  years  as  to  what  could  have  caused 
so  singular  a  formation,  but  no  one  was  ever  curious 
enough  until  within  the  last  few  days  to  make  any 
examination  of  the  interior  of  these  mounds.  A  few 

*  Vol.  iv.,  p.  313. 

f  This  is  undoubtedly  a  natural  eminence,  artificially  rounded. 


152 


THE  MOHND- BUILDERS. 


days  ago  one  of  the  engineers  of  the  North  Pacific 
Railroad  opened  one  of  them  and  found  the  remains 
of  pottery,  and  a  more  thorough  examination  of  others 
revealed  other  curious  relics,  evidently  the  work  of 
human  hands ;  in  fact,  in  every  mound  that  has  yet 
been  opened,  there  is  some  relic  of  a  long-forgotten 
race  discovered.  The  theory  now  is  that  this  prairie 
was  the  cemetery  of  the  people  who  inhabited  the 
countiy  in  pre-historic  times.” 

To  a  mere  mound,  or  group  of  mounds,  little 
importance  is  to  be  attached  in  tracing  national  affini¬ 
ties,  for,  as  will  be  shown,  this  is  the  rudest  form  by 
which  a  people  seek  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  a 
signal  event,  or  commemorate  the  death  of  a  hero  ;  and 
hence  they  are  common  to  all  ages  and  all  nations.  If 
these  mounds  were  connected  with  those  elaborately- 
constructed  enclosures,  or  exhibited  the  form  of  the 
truncated  pyramid,  which  I  have  described  as  occurring 
east  of  the  great  water-shed  of  the  continent,  they 
might  be  cited  as  an  evidence  of  a  common  origin  on 
the  part  of  the  builders. 

Ancient  works  in  the  Montanic  Region. — “  The  Den¬ 
ver  News,”  not  long  ago,  stated  that  a  mound  had 
been  discovered  in  Southern  Utah,  which,  on  excava¬ 
tion,  yielded  relics  showing  much  artistic  skill ;  and  in 
a  later  issue  further  stated,  that,  on  the  extreme  summit 
of  the  Snowy  Range,  were  found  large  granite  blocks 
in  an  upright  position,  conforming  to  the  general  out¬ 
line  of  the  ridge.  These  are  in  the  nature  of  “  dol¬ 
mens,”  a  class  of  structures  rarely  seen  in  the  United 
States. 

“  About  half  a  mile  west  of  Golden  City,  Colorado,” 
according  to  Mr.  E.  L.  Berthoud,  “  are  ruins  formed 
of  an  old  broken-down  circumvallating  circle  of  rough 


WORKS  IN  DAKOTA. 


153 


stone,  derived  from  the  neighboring  mountains  and  a 
sandstone  ridge  south  of  them.  These  ruins  are  at  the 
junction  of  a  ravine  ten  feet  in  depth,  and  the  bed  of 
Clear  Creek,  which  is  about  twenty  feet  vertically  below 
the  walls.  A  large  amount  of  stone  has  been  taken  for 
foundation  walls,  but  enough  remain  to  give  an  outline 
of  its  position  and  shape.  The  stones  are,  in  many  cases, 
embedded  in  the  soil,  and  are  mossy  with  age.  On  the 
south  side  is  a  pit  twelve  feet  wide,  and  about  fifteen 
to  eighteen  inches  deep,  shaped  like  a  saucer.  The 
central  mound,  very  plainly  discernible,  nowhere  over 
one  foot  high,  is  formed  of  granitic  sand,  and  around 
its  circumference  are  evidences  of  five  or  six  shallow 
pits,  surrounded  by  a  stone  enclosure,  now  almost  gone, 
and  traced  by  broken  fragments  of  stone,  burnt  bone, 
etc.”* 

Mr.  A.  Barrandt  states  that  archeeological  remains 
occur  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  between  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone  and  at  intervals,  as  far  down  as  Bonhomme 
Island,  below  Fort  Randall. 

“  Among  the  most  important  and  well-preserved,  is 
one  existing  about  nine  miles  southeast  of  the  Missouri, 
and  within  half  a  mile  of  Clark’s  Creek,  in  Dakota. 
The  main  work  is  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  three 
hundred  and  forty  feet  long,  one  hundred  and  ninety 
feet  wide,  and  twenty  and  twenty-five  feet  high.  The 
walls  on  an  average,  are  seven  feet  thick  on  the  summit. 
There  are  two  openings,  one  facing  west  twenty -four 
feet,  and  the  other  facing  south,  only  nine  feet  wide. 
The  space  inside  was  full  of  cotton-wood  and  ash  trees. 
Several  large  blocks  of  sandstone,  roughly  hewn,  were 
found,  but  the  walls,  and  a  ruined  portion  of  what 
appeared  to  be  the  remains  of  a  smaller  enclosure,  were 

*“  Smithsonian  Report."  1866. 


154 


THE  MOUND -BUILDEES. 


of  calcined  clay,  changed  by  burning,  into  a  brick 
color.  .  ,  . 

“  About  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  up  the  Bighorn 
River,  we  found,  also,  another  mass  of  ruins,  where  was, 
probably,  the  site  of  a  large  mound  city,  but  none  are 
now  existing  ;  they  have  all  crumbled  away,  and  from 
a  large  oak  that  we  felled,  I  found  that  they  must  have 
occupied  this  spot  at  least  six  hundred  years  ago,  as  the 
tree  grew  on  the  remains  of  what  was  probably  the 
largest  mound.  .  .  . 

“  Further  up  the  Yellowstone,  I  found  the  remains 
of  an  ancient  City  of  Mounds,  which  seems  to  have 
been  regularly  laid  out :  the  streets  are  regular  and  the 
mounds  are  equidistant  from  one  another.” 

He  found  the  largest  one  sixty-three  feet  in  diameter 
at  the  summit,  and  twenty-seven  feet  high.  From  the 
smaller  ones,  he  gathered  fragments  of  sun-dried  pot¬ 
tery,  arrow-heads,  etc.  Eighty -seven  mounds  were  in  a 
state  of  preservation,  and  sixty-three  in  ruins. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Moreau  River,  a  few  miles  from 
its  mouth,  he  discovered  another  Mound  City  contain¬ 
ing  about  two  hundred  mounds.  Two  and  one-half 
miles  to  the  north,  there  was  another  group  of  the 
largest  mounds  he  had  ever  seen.  Another  group  he 
observed  on  the  banks  of  the  Great  Cheyenne.* 

The  remains  of  fortifications  described  by  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  in  the  Journal  of  their  Expedition  up  the 
Missouri,  in  1804-5-6,  occur  on  Bonhomme  Island. 

Whether  the  pre-historic  races  who  threw  up  the 
structures  on  the  Pacific  Coast  and  in  the  Montanic 
Region,  were  identical  with  the  Mound-builders,  is  a 
matter  of  uncertainty.  Future  explorations,  aided  by 
a  careful  comparison  of  relics,  may  solve  the  question. 

**’ Smithsonian  Report.”  1870. 


GARDEN-BEDS. 


155 


Garden -heds  in  the  Northwest. —  In  portions  of  the 
region  bordering  Lake  Michigan,  particularly  in  Lower 
Wisconsin ;  in  the  valleys  of  Grand  River  and  St. 
Joseph’s,  Michigan ;  and  in  Northern  Indiana,  occur  a 
series  of  ancient  works,  first  pointed  out  by  Schoolcraft,* 
which  are  different  from  any  hitherto  described,  and 
known  as  garden-beds.  Many  of  the  lines  of  the  plats 
are  rectangular  and  parallel ;  others  are  semicircular  and 
variously  curved,  forming  avenues,  differently  grouped 
and  disposed.  Dr.  Lapham  describes  those  of  Wiscon¬ 
sin  as  consisting  of  low  parallel  ridges,  as  if  corn  had  been 
planted  in  drills.  They  average  four  feet  in  width,  and 
twenty-five  of  them  have  been  counted  in  the  space  of 
one  hundred  feet.  The  depth  of  the  walk  between  them 
is  about  six  inches.  He  also  draws  the  inference  that 
these  “garden-beds”  were  not  constructed  until  after 
the  mounds,  as  they  sometimes  extend  across  them  in 
the  same  manner  as  over  the  adjoining  grounds. f 

Mr.  Canfield  states  that  these  garden-beds,  in  Sauk 
County,  occupy  fields  of  from  ten  to  one  hundred  acres, 
and  have  different  directions,  as  though  each  family 
had  had  a  separate  patch  for  cultivation. 

They  certainly  indicate  a  methodical  cultivation  which 
was  not  practised  by  the  Red  man,  but  perhaps  it  is 
going  too  far  to  infer  that  they  were  constructed  by  a 
different  race  from  the  Mound-builders,  for  the  reason 
only  that  they  often  extend  over  mounds  which  the 
builders  are  supposed  to  have  regarded  as  sacred,  and 
that  such  cultivation  would  have  been  a  desecration. 

*“  Condition  and  Prospects  of  the  Indian  Tribes,"  etc.,  vol.  i,  p.  55. 
f  "  Antiquities,”  etc.,  p.  10. 
t  “  Sketches  of  Sauk  County,  Wisconsin.” 


CHAPTER  IV. 


SHELL -BANKS  —  THEIR  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION. 

HERE  is  another  class  of  accumulations  of  human 


A  origin,  existing  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  some 
of  which  have  claims  to  a  very  considerable  antiquity, 
while  others  are  comparatively  recent.  These  are 
known  as  shell-banks,  and  the  materials  are  both  of 
marine  and  fresh-water  origin. 

Marine  accumulations. —  The  most  remarkable  of  these 
accumulations  occur  on  the  Gulf  Coast,  and  consist,  for 
the  most  part,  of  the  G-natliodon  cuneatus. 


The  habitat  of  this  shell  is 
in  brackish  water,  and  it 
buries  itself  in  the  mud-banks 
where  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows 
every  twelve  hours.  No  one, 
except  from  observation,  can 
form  a  just  idea  of  the  magni¬ 
tude  of  these  accumulations. 
Mobile  is  built  upon  beds  of 


Fig.  11. 


Gnatliodon  cuneatus. 


them;  the  famous  “shell-road”  out  of  New  Orleans 
to  Lake  Pontchartrain,  is  Macadamized  with  them, 
and  a  lucrative  traffic  is  driven  in  exporting  them  to 
distant  parts  for  garden-walks  and  other  ornamental 
purposes. 

Professor  Forshey  has  in  his  MS.  notes  furnished  me 


156 


GNATHODON  BEDS. 


157 


with  very  exact  descriptions  of  the  shell-heaps  in  the 
region  of  New  Orleans. 

“  Descending  the  Mississippi,  we  find  the  Gulf  Coast 
lined  with  an  infinite  number  of  bayous,  lakes,  and 
lagoons,  with  Gnathodon  shells,  and  occasionally  with 
some  muscles,  piled  up  in  reefs  or  ridges  along  their 
banks.  Most  of  these  accumulations  are  artificial, 
though  many  are  apparently  natural.  They  may  be  dis- 
.  tinguished,  in  this  respect,  by  the  presence  or  absence  of 
pottery,  fiint-flakes,  and  occasionally  pipes,  stone  niul- 
lers,  and  hatchets. 

“  These  ridges  and  occasional  mounds  are  very  num¬ 
erous  near  the  city  of  New  Orleans  and  along  Lakes 
Pontchartrain  and  Maurepas,  and  the  small  bayous  that 
pass  from  one  into  the  other,  and  from  the  river  to 
these  lakes.  At  about  fifteen  miles  above  the  city, 
measured  by  the  river,  was  a  very  small  bayou,  called 
Metairie — an  outlet  prior  to  the  levees, —  which  passed 
in  the  rear  of  the  city  midway  to  Lake  Pontchartrain. 
A  ridge  of  land  some  seven  feet  higher  than  the  swamp- 
level,  skirted  the  bayou  on  either  side  some  thousand 
feet  wide.  The  bayou  kept  its  course  with  a  depth 
anterior  to  the  levees  of  some  six  feet.  In  the  middle 
of  the  old  city,  this  ridge  seems  to  have  been  traversed 
by  Bayou  St.  John,  which  started  within  lialf  a  mile  of 
the  river,  and  by  aid  of  some  violent  crevasse,  broke 
through  the  Metairie  Ridges  and  Bayou,  and  created  a 
deep  channel  into  Lake  Pontchartrain,  at  a  point  six 
miles  from  the  river.  This  is  the  channel  through 
which  the  city  has  long  been  drained  into  the  lake. 
The  Bayou  Metairie  here  loses  its  name  and  is  called 
Gentilly  below  the  Bayou  St.  John,  and  passes  on 
southeasterly,  its  channel  discharging  into  Lake  Bourge. 

“  Shell-mounds  and  shell  accumulations  abound  along 


158 


SHELL  -  BANKS. 


the  Metairie,  the  Gentilly,  and  the  lake-shores,  but  none 
along  the  Mississippi.  One  shell-heap  occurs  in  the 
rear  of  Carrolton,  and  on  the  rear  slope  of  Metairie 
Ridge,  several  hundred  feet  in  extent,  though  somewhat 
angular.  The  accumulation  is  about  seven  feet  high, 
and  is  covered  with  trees  which  apparently  are  of  the 
same  age  as  those  of  the  swamp  it  lies  in.  Broken 
pottery  of  clay  and  pulverized  shells  were  found  upon  it. 

“  On  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  nearly  opposite  New 
Orleans,  rises  up  the  Bayou  Barataria,  which  drains 
the  lakes  between  the  Mississippi  and  La  Fourche, 
passing  into  the  Gulf  at  Barataria  Bay,  famous  as  the 
rendezvous  of  the  pirate  Lafitte.  Along  the  banks  of 
this  bayou  are  vast  shell  accumulations,  which,  for 
years,  like  the  others  I  have  named,  have  been  used  for 
street  grading  and  garden-walks  in  New  Orleans.  A 
constant  trade  in  small  sail-boats  and  barges  is  kept  up, 
and  this  trade  is  fast  exhausting  these  supplies. 

“  On  this  bayou,  as  elsewhere  off  the  sea  and  lake- 
shores,  all  these  accumulations  are  artificial.  The  pre¬ 
historic  inhabitants  doubtless  lived  upon  these  shell-fish, 
either  in  great  numbers,  or  through  many  centuries  of 
time  ;  yet  they  are  found  in  the  banks,  like  oysters  else¬ 
where,  as  if  placed  where  we  find  them,  by  natural 
causes. 

“  At  the  junction  of  this  bayou  with  Bayou  Perrot, 
near  Lake  Larto,  is  a  very  large  mound,  perhaps  600 
feet  in  length,  and  200  feet  in  width,  and  some  nine  feet 
in  height,  made  up  of  a  mass  of  shells.  There  were  for¬ 
merly  other  banks,  I  believe,  which  showed  artificial 
construction,  but  they  have  been  mutilated  for  gain, 
just  as  this  ‘  Little  Temple  ’  is  now  being  destroyed 
— many  thousands  of  cubic  yards  of  these  shells  being 
annually  brought  to  the  city. 


GNATHODON  BEDS. 


159 


“The  ‘Little  Temple,’  is  so  called  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  ‘  Grand  Temple,’  near  the  mouth  of  Bayou 
Des  Allimans,  on  Lake  Pallourde.  An  island  is  called 
‘  Temple  I,’  from  this  greatest  of  all  shell-mounds, 
it  being  much  larger  and  higher  than  that  on  the 
Barataria. 

“  Some  fifteen  miles  further  south  on  the  Chinese 
Bayou,  there  are  several  mounds  of  a  like  character, 
and  of  considerable  magnitude. 

“  Another  and  larger  than  either  of  these  stood  on 
the  west  side  of  Berwick’s  Bay,  just  above  and  opposite 
Brashear.  It  was  built  of  shells  and  loam,  and  was 
some  twenty  feet  high,  and  more  than  two  hundred 
feet  square,  but  was  destroyed  in  1863,  because  the 
Confederates  used  it  for  cover.  This  is  the  lowest 
and  farthest  west  of  all  the  artificial  mounds  I  have 
seen,  although  others  may  exist.  Shell-mounds  abound 
at  Pointe  la  Hache,  forty  miles  below  New  Orleans. 
The  church  and  cemetery  at  that  point  stand  upon 
them.” 

W est  of  the  Mississippi  these  shell -heaps  are  contin¬ 
ued.  At  Grand  Lake,  on  the  Teche,  as  I  am  informed 
by  Mr.  George  C.  Walker,  the  accumulations  reach 
from  six  to  ten  feet  in  height,  forty  feet  in  breadth, 
and  extend  in  length  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  and 
large  live-oaks  are  seen  growing  upon  them.  This 
region  is  now  fifteen  miles  inland,  thus  showing  that 
marked  changes  in  the  sea-level  have  occurred  in  com¬ 
paratively  recent  times.  These  shell-mounds  have 
yielded  unique  specimens  of  axes  of  haematitic  iron  ore 
and  glazed  pottery,  transferred  by  the  kindness  of  Dr. 
Dungan  to  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences,  but 
unfortunately  destroyed  in  the  memorable  fire. 

The  same  class  of  accumulations,  according  to  Nott 


160 


SHELL -BANKS. 


and  Gliddou,  occurs  on  the  Alabama  River,  fifty  miles 
inland,  and  the  evidence  is  irresistible  that  the  aborig¬ 
ines  collected  these  molluscs  for  food  when  Mobile  Bay 
occupied  that  region.  “The  shells,”  say  they,  “have 
all  been  opened,  and  we  find  in  them  the  marks  of  fire 
extending  over  considerable  spaces ;  the  shells  converted 
into  quicklime  are  mingled  with  charcoal,  so  that  the 
successive  accumulations  of  shells  may  be  plainly 
traced.  Fish-bones  and  other  remains  of  Indian  feasts, 
are  common ;  also  fragments  of  Indian  pottery  and  of 
human  bones,  that  can  be  identified  by  their  crania. 
Some  of  these  beds  are  covered  over  with  a  vegetable 
mould  from  one  to  two  feet  thick,  which  must  have 
been  a  very  long  time  forming ,  and  upon  this  are 
growing  the  largest  forest  trees,  beneath  whose  roots 
these  Indian  remains  are  often  discovered.”  * 

Sir  Charles  Lyell  has  described  a  shell-bank  on 
St.  Simon’s  Island,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Altamaha 
River,  Georgia,  covering  ten  acres,  with  a  depth  of  from 
five  to  ten  feet.f 

Dr.  Brinton  has  described  similar  accumulations  in 
Florida.  At  Fernandina,  on  Amelia  Island,  a  layer  of 
shells  exists  along  the  bluff  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards,  extending  inland  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  In 
parts  the  deposit  is  three  feet  in  depth,  composed 
almost  entirely  of  oyster  shells,  with  a  few  shells  of 
clams  and  conchs.  Similar  deposits  occur  on  both 
sides  of  the  entrance  to  the  St.  John’s  River,  and  on 
Anastasia  Island.  Near  Smyrna  is  seen  Turtle  Mound, 
which  is  almost  entirely  a  mass  of  oyster  shells,  thirty 
feet  thick.  Another  very  similar  shell-mound  occurs 
opposite  Smyrna  ;  and  on  Crystal  River,  four  miles  from 

*  “  Types  of  Mankind,”  p.  272. 

f  “  Second  Visit  to  United  States,”  vol.  i.,  p.  252. 


IN  NOVA  SCOTIA. 


161 


its  mouth,  there  is  a  mass  of  shells,  forty  feet  thick  and 
thirty  broad,  with  a  nearly  level  surface.* 

Professor  Vanuxem  was  the  first  in  the  United  States 
to  call  attention  to  the  artificial  origin  of  many  of 
these  banks.  As  far  back  as  1841  he  described  the 
large  accumulations  of  oyster  shells  (  Ostrea  virginica) 
which  occur  on  many  parts  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  and 
particularly  on  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake.  Some 
of  the  deposits  are  described  by  him  as  enormous, 
covering  acres  of  ground.  After  much  doubt  he  was 
disposed  to  refer  some  of  them,  at  least,  to  human 
origin,  for  the  reasons  that  those  employed  in  collecting 
them  were  unable  to  find  any  two  valves  which  fitted 
each  other,  and  that  in  the  progress  of  the  investiga¬ 
tion,  arrow-heads  and  fragments  of  pottery  were  dis¬ 
closed  ;  and,  besides,  the  deposits  reposed  on  a  yellowish 
loam  —  the  surface-soil  of  the  region,  —  which  was 
penetrated  by  the  roots  of  the  red  cedar. f 

Mr.  J.  M.  Jones,  President  of  the  Institute  of  Nat¬ 
ural  Science  of  Nova  Scotia,  describes  shell  accumu¬ 
lations  (intermingled  with  flint  implements,  charcoal, 
and  the  bones  of  existing  birds  and  animals)  similar  to 
those  found  on  the  coast  of  Denmark. 

They  occur  at  St.  Margaret’s  Bay,  about  twenty-two 
miles  southwest  of  Halifax,  on  a  knoll  some  twenty 
feet  above  the  water,  and  are  fifty  yards  or  more  in 
length,  and  eight  yards  in  breadth.  When  the  soil, 
which  covers  the  mass  to  the  depth  of  a  few  inches,  is 
removed,  there  is  found  a  layer  of  compact  shells,  such 
as  the  quahog,  clam,  scallop,  etc.,  perfect  and  imperfect, 
in  which  lie  the  bones  of  animals,  such  as  the  moose, 
bear,  beaver,  and  porcupine  ;  and  of  birds,  some  of 

*“  Notes  on  the  Floridian  Peninsula.” 

t“  Proceedings  American  Association  of  Geologists,”  vol.  i.,  p.  22. 


162 


SHELL -BANKSo 


tliem  belonging'  to  a  form  larger  than  the  great  northern 
diver ;  and  fish  vertehrse,  like  those  of  the  Norway 
haddock ;  together  with  fiint  and  quartz  arrow-heads, 
and  broken  pieces  of  rough  pottery,  bearing  evident 
traces  of  attempts  at  ornament.  In  this  connection 
were  found  bones  sharpened  into  awls.  Granite  boulders 
are  scattered  in  heaps,  which  served  as  ancient  seats, 
for,  when  dug  about,  greater  masses  of  shells  and 
more  evident  traces  of  fire  were  observed.  The  char¬ 
coal,  in  some  instances,  had  lost  but  little  of  its  con¬ 
sistency.* 

Professor  Wyman  has  described  the  shell-banks 
occurring  at  Frenchman’s  Bay  and  Crouch’s  Cove,  in 
the  State  of  Maine,  consisting  of  the  quahog,  scallop, 
muscle,  periwinkle,  etc.,  with  remains  of  charcoal,  but 
without  the  association  of  stone  implements.  He  also 
describes  similar  accumulations  as  occurring  at  Ipswich, 
Salisbury,  and  Cotrick  Point,  in  Massachusetts.  At  the 
first-named  point,  a  human  under-jaw  has  since  been 
obtained  by  Professor  Baird. 

From  his  survey  of  these  deposits,  he  arrives  at  the 
conclusion  that  they  yield  nothing  which  indicates  as 
high  an  antiquity  as  the  kitchen  middings  of  the  Old 
World. 

These  deposits  contain  the  remains  of  the  elk,  which 
has  now  retired  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  and  the  wild 
turkey,  now  virtually  extinct  in  New  England,  and  of 
the  great  auk,  which  has  probably  receded  to  the  Arctic 
Circle,  or  become  extinct.f 

While  thus  the  shell-heaps  of  New  England  may  be 
comparatively  modern,  those  of  the  Gulf  Coast  have 
a  comparatively  high  antiquity,  going  back  to  the 

*  “  London  Athenaeum.” 

•{•“American  Naturalist,”  Feb.  No.,  1868. 


ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST. 


163 


Mound-builder  Era  and  possibly  beyond,  for  the  region 
has  undergone  marked  physical  changes  since  they  were 
accumulated. 

On  the  Pacific  Coast. —  Shell-banks  exist  in  vast  num¬ 
bers  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  A  newspaper  correspondent  * 
describes  those  which  occur  near  San  Francisco  : 

“  San  Pablo  is  about  fifteen  miles  from  Oakland,  and 
lies  almost  due  north.  Within  three  miles  of  the  town 
a  shell-mound  rises  up  from  the  plain  to  almost  the  dig¬ 
nity  of  a  hill,  which  is  now  covered  with  a  growth  of 
shrubbery.  The  mound  is  almost  a  mile  long  and  half 
a  mile  wide.  Fragments  of  pottery  made  of  red  earth, 
not  to  be  obtained  anywhere  in  this  State,  are  found  on 
the  surface  and  near  the  top.  About  two  years  ago 
Mr.  McHenry,  the  owner  of  the  land,  dug  a  trench,  and 
at  a  depth  of  twenty  feet,  sixty  feet  in  from  the  west, 
near  the  base,  found  numerous  skeletons  of  Indians  of 
all  sizes,  and  some  bones  of  dogs  and  birds,  and  many 
implements  of  stone.  One  baby  had  been  rolled  in  a 
long  piece  of  red  silk,  like  the  mummies,  which  had 
been  covered  with  a  coating  of  a  sort  of  asphaltum.  Mr. 
jMcHenry  also  found  in  other  parts  of  the  hill  evidences 
enough  to  show  that  this  mound  was  a  burying  place 
for  some  extinct  tribe  of  Indians,  as  the  skulls  are  dif¬ 
ferent  from  all  others  known,  in  some  particulars.  All 
the  skeletons  were  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  their  faces 
turned  northward.  The  shells  that  form  this  mound 
are  the  oyster,  clam,  and  muscle ;  all  having  been 
exposed  to  the  action  of  fire,  and  nearly  all  are  broken. 
Very  rarely  are  entire  shells  found.  The  same  kind  of 
mounds,  though  not  so  large,  are  found  near  San  Mateo, 
on  the  San  Francisco  side.  They  are  all  near  the  shores 
of  the  bay,  and  have  been  made  of  shells  of  oysters 
*  “  St.  Louis  Globe.” 


164 


SHELL -BANKS. 


and  muscles  that  the  Indians  used  as  food,  and  which 
they  evidently  roasted  to  open.” 

The  corpse  “  rolled  in  a  long  piece  of  silk,”  instead 
of  being  marvellous,  would  indicate  that  this  was  an 
intrusive  burial  made  since  this  region  was  known  to 
the  whites..  The  presence  of  the  bones  of  dogs,  too, 
would  confirm  this  supposition. 

Fresh-ivater  sheM-heaps. —  These  occur  in  large  banks, 
at  many  points  along  the  principal  streams  of  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi  Valley,  and  under  conditions  which  would  refer 
their  origin  to  human  agency.  They  consist  of  the  com¬ 
mon  Unios  and  Anodons,  now  inhabiting  those  streams, 
which  were  undoubtedly  gathered  for  human  food,  for  it 
is  difiicult  to  find  the  corresponding  valves.  Intermixed 
with  the  mass  are  often  found  fragments  of  pottery, 
stone  implements,  remains  of  charcoal,  etc.  Banks  of 
this  kind  occur  in  the  American  Bottom  in  Illinois,  in 
close  proximity  to  the  mounds. 

Similar  banks  have  been  observed  by  Professor  Cox, 
at  numerous  points  in  Indiana.  At  New  Harmony,  or 
rather  about  a  mile  and  one-half  south  of  that  village, 
one  is  to  be  seen,  whose  artificial  origin  was  determined 
by  those  eminent  naturalists,  C.  A.  Lesueur  and  Thomas 
Say,  as  far  back  as  1826,  mention  of  which  is  made  in 
the  magnificent  work  “  Travels  in  the  United  States,” 
by  the  Prince  Maximilian.  This  is,  probably,  the 
earliest  notice  of  the  existence  of  such  artificial  accumu¬ 
lations  to  be  found  in  our  Natural  History  literature. 
The  locality  was,  at  a  later  date,  visited  by  Sir  Charles 
Lyell,  and  is  described  in  the  volume  known  as  his 
“  Second  Visit  to  the  United  States.” 

This  bank  consists,  for  the  most  part  of  Unios,  belong¬ 
ing  to  those  species  which  may  be  described  as  gre¬ 
garious  and  reef-building,  among  which  are  the  U. 


IN  INDIANA. 


165 


'plicatus,  U.  pyramidalis,  U.  ebenus,  U.  crassus^  and  U. 
tuherculatus.  Associated  with  them  are  univalves  such 
as  Paludina  ponderosa^  and  a  few  Melanias.  Intermixed 
with  these  are  found  the  bones  of  animals  indigenous  to 
the  country,  belonging,  for  the  most  part,  to  small 
quadrupeds,  together  with  fragments  of  charcoal. 

The  position  of  this  bank  is  on  one  of  the  highest 
hills  in  the  region,  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  above 
the  “Cut-off,”  an  arm  of  the  Wabash  River,  and  the 
area  occujiied  is  about  one-fourth  of  an  acre.  The 
ridge,  which  terminates  near  the  Cut-off,  is  very  narrow, 
has  a  very  precipitous  descent,  and  is  marked  by  a  series 
of  spurs.  These  positions  were  selected  by  the  Mound- 
builders  for  burial  places,  and  are  indicated  by  low 
mounds.  When  explored,  the  graves,  as  first  deter¬ 
mined  by  Lesueur,  are  found  to  be  encased  with  flags 
of  sandstone,  within  which  the  corpse  was  placed.  The 
geological  formation  consists  of  Loess,  fifteen  feet  thick, 
resting  on  a  layer  of  Drift-accumulated  pebbles. 

In  Perry  County,  Indiana,  according  to  the  authority 
above  quoted,  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  above  Rome, 
on  the  second  l)ottom  of  the  Ohio  River,  is  an  artificial 
shell-heap  which  has  been  so  repeatedly  ploughed  over 
as  to  render  it  impossible  to  compute  its  original  dimen¬ 
sions.  Great  quantities  of  stone  implements,  sucli  as 
arrow-heads,  axes,  bark-peelers,  etc.,  have  been  picked 
up. 

At  Aydelotte,  just  below  New  Albany,  in  an  old 
orchard,  there  is  a  shell-bank  which  has  yielded  a  large 
assortment  of  implements  both  of  stone  and  bone,  most  of 
which  are  preserved  in  the  museum  of  the  New  Albany 
Natural  History  Society.  Of  the  former  may  l)e  enum¬ 
erated  axes  and  ornaments ;  and  of  the  latter,  fish-hooks, 
knives,  awls,  and  needles. 


166 


SHELL -BANKS. 


In  Martin  County,  there  is  a  shell-bank  on  the  top  of 
a  hill  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  overlooking  the 
east  fork  of  White  River,  and  just  beloAv  the  town  of 
Shoales ;  and  another  in  whieh  are  found  intermingled 
ashes,  chareoal,  bones  of  quadrupeds,  birds,  and  fishes, 
bone  needles,  bone  fish-hooks,  ete.* 

Another  shell-heap  is  mentioned  in  Professor  Cox’s 
MS.  notes  as  occurring  near  Edwardsport,  on  a  hill-side, 
thirty  feet  above  the  road-bed,  which  he  has  been  unable 
to  explore. 

Shell-banks  are  also  found  on  the  Tennessee  River, 
between  Chattanooga  and  Muscle  Shoals.  Mr.  J. 
Parish  Stelle  has  examined  two  deposits  occurring  near 
Savannah,  on  both  sides  of  that  stream.  That  on  the 
eastern  side  covers  half  an  acre  of  ground,  and  is 
eighteen  inches  in  thickness ;  that  on  the  west  side 
occupies  a  somewhat  smaller  area,  is  two  feet  thick,  and 
lies  about  three  feet  below  the  surface  ;  that  is,  the  river 
has  made  a  sedimentary  deposit  on  the  shell-heap  three 
feet  deep.  There  is  now  growing  upon  it  a  burr-oak 
fully  six  feet  in  diameter.  Extensive  earth-works  — 
mounds  and  enclosures  —  exist  in  the  vicinity.  Broken 
pottery  was  found  in  great  abundance  with  the  shells 
and  other  refuse.  Evidences  of  former  fires  were  seen 
on  a  level  with  the  bottom  of  the  shell-bed.  The  earth 
was  burned  hard  and  red,  and  at  one  point  he  observed 
stones  arranged  as  if  to  support  cooking  utensils. f 
On  the  banks  of  the  Yazoo  River,  Mississippi,  accord¬ 
ing  to  Humphreys  and  Abbot,  {  many  shell -mounds  are 
to  be  seen.  They  are  above  overflow,  and  are  composed 
of  the  shells  of  fresh-water  muscles,  such  as  are  now 

*  “  Referred  to  in  the  “  Second  Indiana  Report,”  p.  iii. 
t  “  Smithsonian  Report,”  1870. 

t  “  Physics  and  Hydraulics  of  the  Mississippi,”  p.  89.. 


IN  FLORIDA. 


167 


found  in  the  river.  No  traditions  relative  to  their  origin 
are  preserved  among  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  present 
day. 

The  fresh-water  shell-heaps  of  Florida,  which  have 
been  explored  by  Dr.  Wyman,  are  on  a  scale  of  magni¬ 
tude  which  almost  surpasses  belief.  They  are  distributed 
over  an  area  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
between  Palatka  and  Salt  Lake,  and  nearly  all  are 
restricted  to  knolls.  Among  the  forms  most  common, 
are  Ampxdlaria  depresm^  Paludina  viultilineata,  and  Unio 
Buckleyi.  In  size  the  mounds  vary  from  circular  heaps, 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  to  long  ridges  several 
hundred  feet  in  length,  and  from  four  to  five,  and  in 
some  instances,  fifteen  feet  thick.  The  shell-mound  at 
King  Philip’s  Town  is  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
long  and  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  broad,  and  at  its  greatest  thickness  is  about  eight 
feet.  Fragments  of  pottery  and  broken  animal  bones 
were  found  intermingled.  At  Black  Hammock,  on  the 
St.  John’s  River,  a  mound  occurs  which  is  about  nine 
hundred  feet  long  and  varies  in  breadth  from  one  hun¬ 
dred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 

The  following  are  the  principal  objects  obtained  by 
Dr.  Wyman  which  indicated  the  agency  of  man  in  their 
accumulation:  Marine  shells,  such  as  the  Strombus 
gigas,  Pyrula  carica.  and  P.  perversa,  with  the  inner 
whorls  removed.  These  shells  were  manufactured  into 
gouges,  chisels,  and  hatchets.  Stone  implements  are 
rare.  A  chisel  and  twenty-five  arrow  and  spear-heads 
were  collected  near,  but  not  in  the  mounds  themselves. 
Tlie  animal  remains  include  the  bear,  deer,  raccoon, 
opossum,  terrapin,  turtle,  alligator,  cat-fish  and  garpike. 
Bones  of  birds  are  rare.* 

*"  American  Naturalist,”  vol.  ii,  Nos.  8  and  9. 


168 


SHELL -BANKS. 


In  reference  to  tlie  immense  accnmnlations  of  these 
two  small  convoluted  shells,  the  Ampullarias  and 
Paludinas,  Professor  Wyman,  in  a  subsequent  report,* 
remarks  :  “It  seems  incredible  to  one  who  searches  the 
waters  of  St.  John's  and  its  lakes  at  the  present  time, 
that  the  two  small  species  of  shells  above-mentioned, 
could  have  been  obtained  in  such  vast  quantities  as  are 
seen  brought  together  in  these  mounds,  unless  at  the 
times  of  their  formation  the  shells  existed  more  abund¬ 
antly  than  now,  or  the  collection  of  them  extended 
through  very  long  periods  of  time.  When  it  is  borne  in 
mind  that  the  shell-heaps  afford  the  only  suitable  surface 
for  dwellings,  being  mostly  built  up  in  swamps,  or  on  land 
liable  to  be  annually  overflowed  by  the  rise  of  the  river, 
they  appear  to  be  necessarily  the  result  of  the  labors  of 
a  few  living  on  a  limited  area  at  any  one  time.  At  the 
present  it  would  be  a  very  difficidt  matter  to  bring 
together  in  a  single  day  enough  of  these  shells  for  the 
daily  meals  of  an  ordinary  family.  That  they  formerly 
existed  in  larger  numbers  than  now  is  by  no  means 
improbable.” 

Professor  Wyman  proceeds  to  cite  numerous  examples 
within  the  Human  Epoch,  in  which  both  animals  and 
plants,  after  flourishing  for  considerable  periods  within 
given  areas,  have  been  compelled  to  yield  in  their 
struggle  for  existence,  against  changed  conditions. 

With  reference  to  the  age  of  these  mounds,  he  states 
that  there  is  to  be  seen  near  Silver  Spring,  where  exists 
a  shell-heap  which  is  reported  to  cover  nearly  twenty 
acres,  a  grove  of  live  oaks,  a  few  survivors  of  a  race  of 
giants  once  common  in  the  forests  near  the  river.  “  Six 
of  these,  at  five  feet  from  the  ground,  measured  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  One,  thirteen  feet ;  three,  fifteen  feet ;  one,  nine- 

r  •*  “  Fifth  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum,”  etc. 


CRANIA  IN  SHELL -BANKS. 


169 


teen  ;  and  one  between  twenty-six  and  twenty-seven 
feet  in  circumference.  This  last  had  been  destroyed  by 
fire  —  an  act  of  vandalism  committed  for  the  purpose  of 
collecting  the  moss  hanging  from  its  liranches. 

These  trees  are  not  on  the  highest  part  of  the  mound, 
but  on  the  slope  furthest  from  the  water.  Excavations 
made  beneath  the  largest  of  them  showed  that  the  tree 
Avas  of  more  recent  origin  than  the  mound  itself.  If  at 
the  beginning  of  the  second  century  of  the  life  of  the 
live  oak,  there  are  twelve  rings  at  least  to  the  inch,  then 
the  above-mentioned  tree,  having  a  semi-diameter  of  fifty 
inches,  would  have  an  age  of  not  less  than  six  hundred 
years,  and  was  near  the  second  century  of  its  existence 
at  the  time  of  the  landing  of  Columbus.  On  the  same 
basis  of  calculation,  the  least  age  of  the  mounds  near 
Blue  Spring,  and  at  Old  Town,  would  be  about  four 
hundred  years.  Though  these  estimates  are  to  be 
regarded  only  as  approximations  to  the  truth,  they, 
Avithout  doubt,  carry  back  the  origin  of  the  mounds 
beyond  the  reach  of  history  or  tradition,  and  certainly 
one  or  tAvo  centuries  before  the  discovery  of  America. 
Although  they  cannot  be  more  recent  than  the  trees 
groAving  upon  them,  they  may  have  been  and  probably 
Avere,  finislied  long  before  the  life  of  the  trees  above- 
mentioned  began.” 

The  crania  from  the  shell-heaps  of  Florida,  according 
to  those  obtained  by  Professor  Wyman  from  a  small 
sand-mound  a  feAV  miles  from  Cedar  Keys,  have  peculi¬ 
arities  Avhich  distinguish  them  from  those  of  the  Mound- 
builders.  Tlie  capacity  of  the  skulls  is  greater,  being 
1375  cubic  centimetres,  or  nearly  eighty-four  cubic 
inches  ;  they  shoAV  no  signs  of  distortion ;  they  are 
remarkable  for  massiveness  and  thickness,  the  aAmrage 
thickness  through  the  parietal  bones  in  eight  of  them 


170 


SHELL -BAKKS. 


being  10.5  millimetres  or  0.42  incli,  which  is  almost 
double  the  usual  thickness ;  and  all  are  quite  heavy,  the 
heaviest  of  the  series  weighing  995  grams ;  and  notwith¬ 
standing  the  loss  of  its  organic  matter,  is  heavier  than 
any  of  the  three  hundred  skulls  in  the  collection,  the 
next  heaviest  being  those  of  the  Negro,  weighing  975 
grams,  of  a  Hawaiian  Islander,  weighing  845  grams,  and 
of  a  Tsuktshi,  weighing  860  grams.* 

*“  Fourth  Annual  Report,”  etc.,  p.  13. 


CHAPTER  V. 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


HE  Mound-builders,  in  selecting  sites  for  their 


JL  structures,  appear  to  have  been  influenced  by  the 
same  motives  which  governed  their  successors  of  Euro¬ 
pean  descent.  Timothy  Flint  long  ago  called  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  fact  that  nearly  every  considerable  town  in 
the  Ohio,  and  he  might  have  added  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  is  founded  on  the  ruins  of  pre-existing  struct¬ 
ures.  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  all 
are  thus  founded,  and  the  list  might  be  enlarged  to  an 
almost  indeflnite  extent.  The  river-terraces  and  bot¬ 
toms  were,  for  the  most  part,  selected,  and  for  obvious 
reasons.  In  the  first  settlement  of  a  continent,  rivers 
are  the  great  highways  ;  in  fact,  until  after  the  lapse 
of  a  considerable  period,  they  afford  almost  the  only 
means  of  communication  between  widely-separated 
points.  The  history  of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  on 
this  continent  shows  how  great  a  task  it  has  been,  even 
with  the  aid  of  iron  and  steel,  and  of  those  animals 
which  are  the  allies  of  man,  to  subdue  the  primeval 
forest ;  and  yet  how  much  greater  the  task  to  a  people 
who  could  only  resort  to  stone  and  copper  axes,  and  the 
additional  aid  of  fire. 

The  river-valleys  abound  in  game,  fish,  and  spontane¬ 
ous  fruits  and  nuts.  Every  hunter  knows  that  the 
deep  recesses  of  the  forest  are  shunned  by  mammals 
and  birds,  and  every  one  Avho  has  plunged  into  those 


172 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


recesses  must  cat  times  have  been  oppressed  by  the  still¬ 
ness  which  reigns  throughout.  In  the  valleys  the  veg¬ 
etable-eaters  find  their  best  feeding-grounds,  and  the 
carnivorous  animals,  both  mammals  and  birds,  naturally 
follow  in  their  track.  The  valleys,  too,  let  in  the  sun¬ 
light,  which  is  essential  to  the  development  of  both 
animal  and  vegetable  organisms. 

In  selecting,  therefore,  the  river-terraces  and  bot¬ 
toms  as  the  sites  for  their  structures,  they  but  availed 
themselves  of  the  natural  advantages  of  the  country, — 
ready  access  to  living  water,  natural  highways,  a  vari¬ 
ety  of  wild  fruits  and  nuts,  streams  stocked  with  fish 
and  natural  parks  with  game,  and,  above  all,  a  warm 
and  quickening  soil,  easily  tilled,  in  which  to  plant 
their  great  agricultural  staple — maize.  They  had  in 
view,  too,  the  picturesque,  for  many  of  their  mounds 
are  reared  on  the  highest  bluffs,  from  which  the  eye 
ranges  over  a  sweep  of  country  diversified  by  wooded 
steeps  and  rolling  prairies,  with  a  broad  river  winding 
its  way  through  the  landscape,  whose  course  can  be 
traced  until  it  mingles  with  the  horizon. 

In  view  of  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  their  empire,  the 
Mound-builders  might  appropriate  to  themselves  the 
words  of  the  Great  Spirit,  as  recorded  in  the  legend  of 
Hiawatha : 

“  I  have  given  you  lands  to  hunt  in, 

I  have  given  you  streams  to  fish  in, 

I  have  given  you  bear  and  bison, 

I  have  given  you  elk  and  antelope,  * 

I  have  given  you  brant  and  beaver. 

Filled  the  marshes  full  of  wild-fowl,  \ 

Filled  the  river  full  of  fishes.” 

Squier  and  Davis  hastily  stated  that  none  of  these 
works  occupied  the  alluvial  bottoms  (an  error  which 

*  I  trust  that  our  great  poet  will  pardon  me  for  having  substituted  the 
words  “  elk  and  antelope  ”  in  the  place  of  “  roe  and  reindeer.”  The 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  MOUNDS. 


173 


Mr.  Squier  subsequently  correeted),  and  from  this 
statement  the  most  erroneous  conclusions  as  to  their 
antiquity  have  been  drawn.  There  is  nothing  to  indi¬ 
cate  but  that  these  works  were  constructed  after  the 
surface  had  assumed  its  present  configuration,  and  that 
the  climate  had  become  essentially  as  it  is  now.  That 
they  should  not  occur  as  abundantly  on  the  bottoms  as 
on  the  terraces,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  when  we  con¬ 
sider  the  great  fluctuations  of  the  Mississippi  and  its 
tributaries.  The  extreme  range  between  low  and  high- 
water  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  at  its  mouth,  is  thirty- 
five  feet;  that  of  the  Missouri,  at  its  mouth,  about, the 
same ;  and  that  of  the  Ohio,  at  Louisville,  forty-two 
feet.  Hence,  during  flood-time,  a  greater  portion 
of  the  bottom-lands  are  subject  to  overflow,  and  it 
would  be  but  natural  for  the  Mound-builders  to  shun 
such  situations.  Where  the  immediate  valleys  lie 
above  high-water,  we  find  their  works.  Of  this  the 
“  American  Bottom  ”  is  a  notable  instance. 

Wliilst  mounds  and  enclosures  constitute  but  parts 
of  one  system,  Squier  and  Davis  have  seen  proper  to 
classify  them  in  reference  to  their  purposes,  under  the 
following  heads  : 


For  Defeitce. 


I.  ENCLOSURES.  <  Sacred. 

I  Miscellaneous. 


term  “  roe  ”  is  not  applied  to  any  species  of  our  Cervidee,  and  the  domin¬ 
ion  of  the  Indians  only  extends  to  the  confines  of  the  reindeer’s  range. 
On  the  other  hand  the  elk  and  antelope  are  two  forms  of  quadrupedal 
animals,  highly  characteristic  of  our  Western  Plains, 


174 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


Enclosures. — There  can  be  little  doubt  that  such 
works  as  those  near  Bourneville,  Hamilton,  and  Gran¬ 
ville,  and  those  on  the  banks  of  both  the  Miamis,  in 
Ohio ;  on  the  bluffs  of  the  Saline  River  in  Illinois ;  on 
the  mountain  summits  of  Northern  Georgia  ;  and  at 
other  points,  were  erected  for  purely  defensive  pur¬ 
poses,  and  were  selected  in  reference  to  military  con¬ 
siderations.  They  are  almost  natural  fortresses,  which 
could  only  be  approached  by  an  enemy  uncovering  his 
front  to  the  full  force  of  such  missiles  as  the  besieged 
might  employ.  The  parapets  are  often  constructed  of 
stc^e,  not  laid  in  regular  courses,  but  heaped  together  in 
the  form  of  rubble ;  and  these  blocks  of  stone  may 
have  been  among  the  available  weapons  to  repel  an 
assault  by  rolling  them  down  the  declivity,  which  in 
many  instances  is  so  steep  that  they  would  descend  by 
their  own  momentum.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  in 
most  of  these  works,  which  are  regarded  as  purely 
defensive,  the  ditch  is  on  the  inside  ;  and  were  it  other¬ 
wise,  it  would  have  seriously  interfered  with  the  mode 
of  defence  which  I  have  suggested. 

Those  works  in  Northern  Ohio  and  Western  New 
York,  which  exhibit  the  trenches  on  the  outside  of  the 
parapets,  are  also  classed  as  defensive,  while  those 
which  occupy  level  plateaux  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio, 
with  the  trench  inside,  which  are  by  far  the  most 
numerous,  are  classed  as  sacred  enclosures.  I  do  not 
recognize  the  importance  of  this  distinction.  Many 
writers,  who  have  speculated  upon  this  feature,  seem 
to  have  adopted  the  idea  that  the  enemy,  whoever  he 
may  have  been,  settled  down  before  these  works,  as  the 
Greeks  did  under  the  walls  of  Troy,  and  engaged  in  a 
protracted  siege.  Now  every  one  acquainted  with 
Indian  warfare  knows  that  it  consists  in  surprises.  A 


DEFENSIVE  LINES. 


175 


blow  is  struck,  a  massacre  ensues,  and  a  retreat  follows. 
Savages  have  not  the  means  of  subduing  a  fortification 
by  regular  approaches,  nor  the  accumulated  provisions  to 
sustain  them  while  awaiting  the  result.  A  company 
of  infantry  on  the  Plains,  protected  by  an  enclosure  of 
palisades  —  trunks  of  trees  set  upright  and  sharpened 
to  a  point,  —  may  defy  the  combined  power  of  the 
Indians  indefinitely,  or  until  their  supplies  give  out. 
The  Mound-builders,  if  their  enemy  were  like  modern 
Indians,  had  only  to  guard  against  sudden  attacks, 
and  a  row  of  pickets,  without  reference  to  whether  the 
trench  were  inside  or  outside,  would  be  effectual.  Gat¬ 
lin  has  shown  that  the  Mandans,  in  fortifying 
their  villages,  constructed  the  ditch  inside,  the  warriors 
using  the  embankment  as  a  shelter  while  they  shot  their 
arrows  through  the  interstices  of  the  pickets. 

These  enclosures  are  the  most  conspicuous  along 
what  may  be  called  the  frontier  of  the  Alleghanies, 
and  disappear  altogether  as  we  enter  the  immediate 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  which  contains  the  most  stu¬ 
pendous  of  the  mounds.  This  would  seem  to  imply 
that  there  was  another  race,  occupying  the  mountain 
region  to  the  east,  and  perhaps  the  Atlantic  coast  —  a 
race  of  Highlanders,  essentially  different  in  habits,  for 
they  have  left  no  permanent  structures  —  who  from  time 
to  time,  made  predatory  excursions  into  the  Mound- 
builders’  country,  and  succeeded  at  last  in  extirpating 
the  inhabitants.  On  the  west,  it  may  be  inferred,  the 
country  was  secure  against  such  irruptions.  A  great 
line  of  defence,  I  think,  is  traceable  all  the  way  from 
Western  New  York  to  the  Ohio  River,  and  even 
beyond. 

Upon  this  head,  Squier  and  Davis  remark :  “  There 
seems  to  have  existed  a  system  of  defences  extending 


176 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


from  the  sources  of  the  Alleghany  and  Susquehanna,  in 
New  York,  diagonall}’"  across  the  country,  through  Cen¬ 
tral  and  Northern  Ohio,  to  the  Wabash.  Within  this 
range,  the  works  which  are  regarded  as  defensive  are 
largest  and  most  numerous.  If  an  inference  may  he 
drawn  from  tliis  fact,  it  is  that  the  presence  of 
hostihties  was  from  the  northeast ;  or  that  if  the  tide 
of  migration  flowed  from  the  south,  it  received  its  flnal 
check  upon  this  line.  On  the  other  hypothesis,  that 
in  this  region  originated  semi-civilization,  which  subse¬ 
quently  spread  southward,  until  it  attained  its  height 
in  Mexico,  we  may  suppose  that  from  this  direction 
came  the  hostile  savage  hordes,  before  whose  incessant 
attacks  the  less  warlike  Mound-builders  gradually 
receded,  or  beneath  whose  exterminating  cruelty  those 
who  occupied  this  frontier  entirely  disappeared,  leaving 
these  monuments  alone  to  attest  their  existence,  and  the 
extraordinary  skill  with  which  they  defended  their 
altars  and  their  homes.  Upon  either  assumption,  it  is 
clear  that  the  contest  was  a  protracted  one,  and  that 
the  race  of  the  mounds  were,  for  a  long  period,  con¬ 
stantly  exposed  to  attacks.”* 

The  foundations  of  the  stockades  which  are  main¬ 
tained  at  this  time  at  many  points  on  the  Plains,  a 
century  hence,  will  be  less  conspicuous  than  almost  the 
obscurest  of  these  enclosures.  I  can  imagine  other 
purposes  to  which  they  were  applied.  The  large  ones 
may  have  been  walls,  surrounding  their  towns  and  cul¬ 
tivated  flelds,  and  used  even  to  protect  their  crops 
from  predatory  animals.  The  smaller  ones  may  have 
been  designed  to  guard  their  temples  and  sepulchral 
mounds  from  j)rofane  intrusion.  Every  nation  has  its 
games,  and  the  ruder  the  nation  is,  the  greater  the 

*  “  Ancient  Monuments,”  p.  44. 


ALTAR -MOUNDS. 


177 


attempt  at  barbaric  pomp  and  magnifience.  There  can 
be  little  doubt  that  the  Mound-builders  had  their 
national  games  which  were  celebrated  within  these 
enclosures.  They  had,  too,  their  religious  observances, 
their  funeral  ceremonies,  and  their  grand  councils  ;  but 
no  clear  line,  I  think,  can  be  drawn  in  reference  to  the 
different  purposes  of  these  structures. 

Altar  or  sacrifice  mounds. —  “The  general  character¬ 
istics  of  this  class  of  mounds,”  as  pointed  out  by  Squier 
and  Davis,  “  are :  1.  That  they  occur  only  within  the 
vicinity  of  the  enclosures  or  sacred  places ;  2.  That 
they  are  stratified  3.  That  they  contain  symmetrical 
altars  of  burned  clay  or  stone,  on  wliich  were  deposited 
various  remains,  which  in  all  cases  have  been  more  or 
less  subjected  to  the  action  of  fire.”* 

This  class  of  mounds,  which  occurs  in  the  Scioto 
Valley,  may  be  said  to  be  unique,  not  so  much  in  any 
one  feature,  but  in  the  coml)ination  of  features.  The 
sacred  enclosure,  as  we  have  seen,  is  not  recognized  in 
the  “  American  Bottom,”  where  the  mound-system  is  so 
magnificently  developed.  In  the  “  Battle-mound  ”  at 
Vincennes,  the  stratified  structure  was  recognized, 
arching  over  a  large  number  of  bodies,  but  the  enclosure 
was  absent.  Whilst  the  evidences  of  fire,  sufficiently 
long-continued  to  change  the  natural  color  of  clay  to  a 
brick-red,  and  even  to  convert  it  into  a  burial-case,  as 
seen  in  the  graves  of  North  Carolina,  are  in  a  great 
number  of  instances  recognized;  yet,  it  may  be  said, 
that  the  explorations  made  in  other  fields  have  not 
revealed  the  existence  of  symmetrical  altars.  The 
numerous  sections  given  by  our  authors  show  a  dish¬ 
like  nucleus  of  clay  which  served  as  a  hearth,  upon 
which  a  fire  was  built,  offerings  were  made,  and  other 

*  “Ancient  Monuments,”  etc.,  p.  143. 

M 


178 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


ceremonies  performed,  when  a  mound  was  heaped  up, 
composed  of  alternate  layers  of  sand  and  earth,  not 
horizontal,  but  conforming  to  the  convexity  of  the 
structure.  In  the  mound  near  Middletown,  Butler 
County,  Ohio,  sixteen  feet  in  height,  which  will  be 
particularly  described  hereafter,  the  following  structure 
was  observed :  About  ten  feet  from  the  top,  there  was 
a  fii’in,  compact  stratum  of  fine  clay,  an  inch  thick, 
which  appeared  to  have  been  burned  until  it  was  red. 
Under  this,  midway  in  the  mound,  was  another  stratum 
of  cream-colored  clay ,  different  from  any  material  in 
the  vicinity  ;  beneath  this  was  a  mass  of  charcoal,  cloth 
perfectly  carbonized  as  though  first  ignited  and  then 
smothered,  and  charred  bones.  The  charcoal  was  out¬ 
side  the  cloth.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  explora¬ 
tions  were  not  continued  sufficiently  far  to  determine 
the  nature  of  the  hearth  on  which  the  fire  was  kindled. 
The  strata  of  burnt  and  yellow  clay  did  not  extend 
through  the  whole  mound,  but  occupied  an  area  of  only 
five  or  six  feet  in  diameter. 

In  this  mound  we  recognize  an  internal  arrangement 
somewhat  analogous  to  that  in  the  Scioto  mounds, 
which  are  regarded  as  sacrificial,  and  we  can  trace  the 
successive  stages  in  its  construction.  Upon  a  hearth 
of  cla}^  probably,  corresponding  with  the  altar,  was 
built  a  funeral  pyre,  upon  which  the  body,  invested 
with  cloth,  was  placed  and  the  fire  lighted.  This  is 
the  inference  from  the  charred  bones  and  the  rim  of 
charcoal  outside  the  matted  folds  of  cloth.  Whether 
this  ceremony  was  designed  simply  to  reduce  the  corpse 
to  ashes,  or  whether  it  was  the  offering  up  of  a  living 
victim,  cannot  be  clearly  determined.  While  the 
embers  were  yet  glowing  and  before  even  the  cloth 
was  consumed,  the  fire  was  extinguished  by  covering  it 


ALTAR -MOUNDS 


179 


a  layer  of  cream-colored  clay,  which,  to  the  mod¬ 
em  explorer,  showed  no  marks  of  fire.  The  mound 
was  then  heaped  up  with  earth,  when  another  layer  of 
clay  was  added,  upon  which  a  fire  was  built  and  con¬ 
tinued  sufficiently  long  to  change  the  natural  color  to  a 
brick-red.  The  object  of  this  observance  cannot  be 
determined,  as  there  were  found  no  human  remains  in 
this  association.  Upon  this  layer  was  placed  ten  feet 
of  earth,  rounded  up,  which  completed  the  structure. 

Thus,  I  think,  it  is  evident  that  this  mound  was  used 
for  sepulchral  purposes,  or  if  for  sacrificial  purposes, 
human  victims  were  the  offerings.  The  absence  of  an 
enclosure  shows  that  this  class  of  structures  is  not 
necessarily  excluded  from  the  “sacred  places.”  I 
am  inclined,  therefore,  to  concur  in  the  opinion  of  Sir 
John  Lubbock,  that  in  these  instances  “  we  have  before 
us  a  sepulchre  rather  than  a  temple.”  * 

As,  however,  this  class  of  mounds  forms  one  of  the 
most  interesting  chapters  in  the  explorations  of  Stpiier 
and  Davis,  I  propose  to  give  a  full  abstract  of  their 
views. 

“  The  altars  or  basins  found 
in  these  mounds,”  observe 
these  authors,  “  are  almost 
invariably  of  burned  clay, 
although  a  few  of  stone  have  ^  , 

been  discovered.  They  are 

symmetrical,  but  not  of  uniform  size  and  shape.  Some 
are  round,  others  elliptical,  and  others  sipiare  or  paral¬ 
lelograms.  Some  are  small,  measuring  barely  two  feet 
across,  while  others  are  fifty  feet  long  by  twelve  or 
fifteen  feet  wide.  The  usual  dimensions  are  from  five 
to  eight  feet.  All  appear  to  have  been  modelled  of  fine 

**•  Pre-Iiistoric  Times,  '  p.  271. 


180 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


cla3%  brought  to  the  spot  from  a  distance,  and  they  rest 
on  the  original  surface  of  the  earth.  In  a  few  instances 
a  la^^er  or  small  elevation  of  sand  has  been  laid  down, 
upon  which  the  altar  was  formed.  The  height  of  the 
altars,  nevertheless,  seldom  exceeds  a  foot  or  twenty 
inches.  This  is  hardly  to  be  explained  by  any  degree 
or  continuance  of  heat,  though  it  is  manifest  that  in 
some  cases  the  heat  was  intense.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  number  of  these  altars  have  been  noticed  which  are 
very  slightly  burned,  and  such,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact, 
are  destitute  of  remains.”* 

The  authors  give  the  following  section  of  a  mound 
explored  by  them  at  “  Mound  City,”  near  Chillicothe, 
Ohio,  as  illustrative  of  this  peculiar  stratification, 
although  no  two  are  alike  in  all  their  details : 


Fig.  13. 


o  c  d  e  /  e  d  c  o  a 


Section  of  an  Altar  Mound. 

a.  Layer  of  gravel  and  pebbles,  I  fooL 

b.  Layer  of  earth,  3  feet. 

c.  A  thin  stratum  of  sand. 

d.  Layer  of  earth,  2  feet. 

e.  Stratum  of  sand. 

f.  Position  of  the  altar. 

The  altar  was  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  meas¬ 
uring  at  its  base  10x8  feet,  and  at  the  top,  6x4  feet. 

*“  Ancient  Monuments.”  etc.,  p.  143,  et.  seq. 


ALTAR -MOUNDS. 


181 


Its  height  was  eighteen  inches,  and  the  dip  of  the  basin 
was  nine  inches.  Within  the  basin  was  a  deposit  of 
ashes,  unmixed  with  charcoal,  three  inches  thick,  much 
compacted  by  the  weight  of  the  superincumbent  earth, 
intermingled  with  which  were  fragments  of  pottery  and 
shell-beads.  The  lower  sand  stratum  rested  directly  on 
the  outer  sides  of  the  altar.  About  three  feet  below 
the  apex  of  this  mound  were  found  two  well-preserved 
skeletons,  which,  from  the  interruption  of  the  upper 
layers,  showed  that  the  Indians  had  resorted  to  it  for 
intrusive  burials. 

From  one  of  the  mounds  in  this  vicinity  our  authors 
obtained  not  far  from  two  hundred  pipes  carved  in 
stone,  many  pearl  and  shell-beads,  discoidal  in  form, 
tubes  of  copper,  and  a  number  of  other  copper  orna¬ 
ments  covered  with  silver.  The  pipes  were  much 
broken,  and  some  of  them  were  calcined  by  heat 
which  had  been  sufficiently  strong  to  melt  copper, 
masses  of  which  were  found  fused  together  in  the  basin 
of  the  altar.  The  pipes  were  mostly  composed  of  a 
red  porphyritic  stone,  somewhat  resembling  the  pipe- 
stone  of  Coteau  des  Prairies,  excejiting  that  it  was  of 
greater  hardness,  and  was  interspersed  with  small  vari¬ 
ously-colored  granules.  Nearly  all  the  articles  carved 
in  limestone  were  calcined. 

In  another  excavation,  instead  of  finding  an  altar  at 
the  base  of  the  mound,  our  authors  found  two  layers  of 
hornstone  chipped  in  the  form  of  discs  and  spear-heads, 
placed  side  by  side  a  little  inclining.  In  an  excavation 
six  feet  long  and  four  wide,  not  less  than  six  hundred 
of  these  articles  were  thrown  out.  The  material  must 
have  been  brought  from  a  long  distance  and  fashioned 
with  great  toil,  and,  therefore,  the  offering,  for  whatever 
purpose  designed,  must  have  been  a  costly  one. 


1.82 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


Dr.  Hoy,  in  investigating  some  of  the  mounds  in  the 
vicinity  of  Racine,  Wisconsin,  met  with  a  somewhat 
similar  deposit. 

What  strange  rites  were  practised  around  these  altars 
will  forever,  in  some  degree,  be  veiled  from  our  com¬ 
prehension,  but  the  past  is  not  altogether  inscrutable. 
The  Mound-builders  worshipped  the  elements — the  sun, 
the  moon,  and  particularly  fire.  They  erected  their 
fire-altars  for  sacrifice,  on  the  highest  summits.  Like 
the  Persian  sun-worshippers,  they,  undoubtedly,  had 
their  Magi,  without  whose  presence  the  sacrifice  could 
not  go  on.  No  gifts  were  too  costly  to  be  offered  up. 
The  most  elaborately  carved  pipes,  precious  stones 
brought  from  a  distance,  and  garments  woven  with 
patient  toil,  were  freely  condemned  to  undergo  the 
ordeal  of  fire.  But  this  was  not  all.  The  numerous 
rehquiee  of  charred  bones  leave  behind  the  terrible 
conviction  that,  on  these  occasions,  human  victims  were 
offered  uj)  as  an  acceptable  sacrifice  to  the  Elements. 

Herodotus,  I  opine,  has  described  the  counterpart  of 
some  of  the  scenes  which  were  enacted  in  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  Valley  in  ancient  times. 

“  The  customs  which  I  know  the  Persians  to  observe, 
are  the  following :  .  .  .  Their  wont  is  to  ascend 

the  summits  of  the  loftiest  mountains  and  there  offer 
sacrifice  to  Jupiter,  which  is  the  name  they  give  to  the 
whole  circuit  of  the  firmament.  They  likewise  offer  to 
the  sun  and  moon,  to  the  earth,  to  fire,  to  water,  and  to 
the  winds.  These  are  the  only  gods  whose  worship  has 
come  down  to  them  from  ancient  times.  .  .  .  To 

these  gods,  the  Persians  offer  sacrifice  in  the  following 
manner :  They  raise  no  altar,  light  no  fire,  pour  no 
libations ;  there  is  no  sound  of  the  flute,  no  putting  on 
of  chaplets,  no  consecrated  barley-cake  ;  but  the  man 


HUMAN  SACKIFICES. 


183 


who  wishes  to  sacrifice,  brings  his  victim  to  a  spot  of 
ground  which  is  pure  from  pollution,  and  there  calls 
upon  the  name  of  the  god  to  whom  he  intends  to  offer. 
It  is  usual  to  have  the  turban  encircled  with  a  wreath, 
most  commonly  the  myrtle.  The  sacrificer  is  not  allowed 
to  pray  for  blessings  on  himself  alone,  but  he  prays  for  the 
king  and  for  the  whole  Persian  people,  among  whom 
he  is  of  necessity  included.  He  cuts  the  victim  in 
pieces,  and  having  boiled  the  flesh,  he  lays  it  out  on  the 
tenderest  herbage  that  he  can  find,  trefoil  especially. 
When  all  is  ready,  one  of  the  Magi  comes  forward  and 
chants  a  hymn,  which  they  say  recounts  the  origin  of 
the  gods.  It  is  not  lawful  to  offer  sacrifice  unless  a 
Magus  is  present.”* 

The  sun-worshippers  of  Mexico  practised  the  same 
horrible  rites,  of  which  Bernal  Diaz  was  an  eye-witness. 
“  On  a  sudden,”  he  relates,  “  our  ears  were  struck  by 
the  horrific  sound  of  the  great  drum,  the  timbrals,  horns, 
and  trumpets  in  the  temple  of  the  war-god.  We  all 
directed  our  eyes  thither,  and,  shocking  to  relate !  saw 
our  unfortunate  countrymen  driven  by  force,  cuffs,  and 
bastinades  to  the  place  where  they  were  to  be  sacrificed, 
which  bloody  ceremony  was  accompanied  by  the  mourn¬ 
ful  sound  of  all  the  instruments  in  the  temple. 

“  We  perceived  that  when  they  had  brought  the  unfor¬ 
tunate  victims  to  the  flat  summit  of  the  body  of  the 
temple,  where  were  the  adoratories,  they  put  plumes 
upon  their  heads,  and  with  a  kind  of  fan  in  the  hand  of 
each,  made  them  dance  before  their  accursed  idols. 
When  they  had  done  this,  they  laid  them  upon  their 
backs,  on  the  stone  used  for  the  purpose,  where  they 
eut  out  their  hearts,  alive,  and  having  presented  them 
yet  palpitating  to  their  gods,  they  drew  the  bodies  down 

*"  Herodotus,”  book  i,  chaps.  131-132. 


184 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


the  steps  by  their  feet,  where  they  were  taken  by  others 
of  their  priests.”  * 

Man  has  not  yet  learned  that  the  incense  of  human 
blood  is  not  acceptable  to  his  Maker ! 

Neither  among  the  ancient  Persians  nor  among  the 
Aztecs,  does  fire  appear  to  have  been  employed  in  these 
human  sacrifices,  but  we  find  closer  analogies  among 
the  ancient  Britons  and  the  modern  Hindoos. 

The  fact  of  the  stratification  of  these  mounds  has  led 
to  the  rash  inference  that  they  were  not  of  artificial 
origin.  The  historian  of  the  United  States,  basing 
his  conclusions  on  the  assertion  of  the  late  President 
Hitchcock,  who  never  investigated  their  structure,  has 
declared  that  the  Mississippi  Valley  has  no  monuments  ; 
that  where  the  antiquarian  of  vivid  imagination  sees  the 
vestiges  of  artificial  walls,  the  geologist  sees  but  crumbs 
of  decaying  sandstone  ;  that  Avhere  the  one  sees  parallel 
intrenchments,  the  other  sees  but  a  trough  that  sub¬ 
siding  waters  have  ploughed  through  the  centre  of  a 
ridge ;  and  that  where  the  one  sees  a  tesselated  pave¬ 
ment,  the  other  sees  but  a  layer  of  pebbles  aptly  joined 
by  water.f 

With  a  vast  accumulation  of  facts  before  us,  bearing 
on  the  artificial  origin  of  these  works,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  go  into  the  serious  refutation  of  such  hastily-adopted 
conclusions;  —  to  show  that  water  does  not  throw  up 
ridges  in  mathematical  figures,  such  as  the  square  and 
circle ;  that  in  its  excavating  power  it  does  not  leave 
behind  polygons  and  pyramids ;  that,  without  disturb¬ 
ing  the  impalpable  ashes  upon  the  hearths  of  a  pre¬ 
historic  race,  it  cannot  arch  them  over  with  a  stratum 
of  sand ;  and  that  it  has  no  power  to  transport  mica 

*'‘The  True  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,”  1568.  Quoted  in 
Flint  Chips,”  pp.  314-315. 

t  Bancroft’s  “  History  of  the  United  States,”  vol.  lii,  p.  307. 


ENGLISH  BARROWS. 


185 


plates  for  a  thousand  miles,  and  arrange  them  with  the 
precision  of  scales  upon  an  ancient  corselet. 

Stratified  mounds  have  been  noticed  in  other  parts  of 
the  world.  Thus,  according  to  Canon  Greenwell,  two 
mounds,  in  the  group  known  as  the  “Three  Hones,”  on 
Egton  South  Moor,  Yorkshire,  England,  were  found  to 
be  composed  of  alternate  layers  of  sand  and  turf  ;  “the 
bands  of  yellow  sand  and  dark-colored  turf  showed  a 
beautiful  section  as  we  proceeded.”  A  still  more 
remarkable  mode  of  construction  was  noted  in  a  mound 
on  Hall  Moor,  near  Castle  Howard.  A  stratum  of  sand, 
gravel,  and  clay,  eighteen  inches  in  thickness,  burnt 
into  a  hard  mass,  was  met  with,  at  the  depth  of  three 
feet  from  the  surface  of  the  barrow.  At  and  around 
the  centre  it  was  almost  as  hard  and  red-colored  as 
brick,  and  must  have  been  subjected  to  strong,  long- 
continued  heat.  The  calcined  human  remains  reduced 
to  a  small  compass,  were  found  near  the  centre  of  the 
mound,  resting  on  this  burnt  stratum,  in  a  barrow  made 
of  sand  near  the  above  mound.  The  remains  of  a  burnt 
body  had  been  deposited  in  a  simple  cist  sunk  about  six 
inches  below  the  level  of  the  surface  soil.  Over  this 
cist  and  overlapping  it,  was  a  layer  of  charcoal,  one  inch 
in  thickness,  and  above  this  was  a  stratum  of  clay  and 
sand  hardened  by  fire,  about  four  inches  in  thickness, 
which  extended  through  the  whole  barrow. 

Chambers  constructed  of  timber  similar  to  those 
described  by  Squier  and  Davis,  have  been  observed  in 
the  Yorkshire  tumuli.  In  one  was  found  an  inhumed 
skeleton  with  a  “  food-vessel,”  and  in  the  mound 
were  one  long  and  four  round  flint  scrapers,  and  a  flint 
spear-head  delicately  chipped.* 

*  Greenwell,  “  Account  of  Grave-hills  in  North  Riding.”  “Archaeo¬ 
logical  Journal,”  vol.  xxii,  p.  113,  et  seq.  Quoted  by  Stevens.  “Flint 
Chips,”  p.  404,  et  seq. 


186 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


Temple -mounds. —  Under  this  head  Squier  and  Davis 
include  such  mounds  “  as  are  distinguished  by  their 
great  regularity  of  form  and  general  large  dimensions. 
They  consist  chiefly  of  pyramidal  structures,  truncated 
and  generally  having  graded  avenues  to  their  tops.  In 
some  instances  they  are  terraced  or  have  successive 
stages.  But  whatever  their  form,  whether  round,  oval, 
octangular,  square,  or  oblong,  they  have  invariably  flat 
or  level  tops.”  *  The  summits  of  these  structures  were 
probably  crowned  with  temples,  but  having  been  con¬ 
structed  of  perishable  materials,  all  traces  of  their 
existence  have  disappeared. 

The  truncated  pyramidal  form,  which  often  rises  to 
no  great  height,  was  obviously  the  foundation  for  such 
structures.  In  the  works  at  Aztalan,  Wisconsin,  we 
trace  the  outlines  of  this  form  of  mounds  at  the  angles 
of  the  bastions,  and  this  may  be  said  to  be  their  northern 
limit.  They  are  not  recognized  on  the  southern  slope 
of  Lake  Erie,  and  are  seen  at  only  three  points  in 
southern  Ohio,  viz :  Marietta,  Newark,  and  Chillicothe. 
The  stupendous  mound  at  Cahokia,  in  Illinois,  with  its 
graded  way,  its  terrace,  and  level  summit,  was  the  best 
representative  of  this  class.  In  Kentucky,  they  are  not 
rare ;  the  great  mound  near  Florence  is  of  this  character, 
and  that  near  Claiborne  —  fifty  feet  in  height  —  has  a 
level  summit  with  a  gradual  slope  on  the  east,  and  a 
succession  of  ten  terraces  on  the  west.  In  this  class, 
too,  must  be  included  the  great  mound  at  Seltzertown, 
Mississippi,  and  most  of  those  in  the  Gulf  States.  In 
Mexico  and  Central  America,  we  see  the  culmination  of 
this  form  in  the  Teocallis,  which  were  faced  with  flights 
of  steps,  and  surmounted  by  temples  of  stone. 

The  temple-mounds  were  also  used  as  sepulchres.  In 

*“  Ancient  Monuments,”  etc.  p.  173. 


TEOC  ALLIS. 


187 


that  at  Seltzertown,  Dr.  Dickeson  found  “  vast  quanti¬ 
ties  of  human  skeletons;”  and  Mr.  Hill,  the  former 
owner  of  the  Cahokia  Mound,  in  sinking  a  well  on  its 
platform,  encountered  charcoal  at  the  depth  of  twenty- 
five  feet.  The  Grave  Creek  Mound,  which  is  in  the 
form  of  a  truncated  cone  —  the  flattened  area  on  the  top 
being  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  and  therefore  coming  under 
the  classification  of  temple-mounds,  —  was  found  to 
enclose  two  vaults  originally  constructed  of  wood,  which 
contained  human  skeletons. 

There  are  those  who,  in  the  truncated  pyramids,  see 
evidences  of  Egyptian  origin.  The  pyramids,  like  the 
temple-mounds,  were  used  for  sepulchres  ;  but  here  the 
analogy  ends.  The  Mound-builders  burned  the  bodies 
of  the  dead,  or  left  them  to  be  resolved  into  dust  by 
the  slow  process  of  decay ;  but  the  Egyptians,  believing 
that  the  soul  would  again  tenant  the  body,  resorted  to 
expensive  processes  for  its  preservation.  The  same 
remarks  will  apply  when  we  institute  a  comparison 
between  the  Teoeallis  of  Central  America  and  the  Pyr¬ 
amids.  They  differ,  both  in  the  mode  of  construction 
and  the  object  aimed  at.  The  pyramids  are  complete 
in  themselves,  and  as  they  tower  up  in  the  Nile  Valley, 
the  eye  at  once  takes  in  the  coherence  of  the  several 
parts.  The  Teoeallis  form  but  a  part  of  the  general 
plan  ;  —  they  wei'e  but  the  foundations  for  more  elab¬ 
orate  structures.  “  There  is  no  pyramid  in  Egypt,”  says 
Stevens,  “  with  a  palace  or  temple  upon  it ;  there  is  no 
pyramidal  structure  in  this  country  (Central  America) 
without.”  *  The  ))yramids,  according  to  Herodotus, 
were  originally  coated  with  stone  from  base  to  summit ; 
the  Teoeallis  have  flattened  summits,  with  flights  of 
steps  descending  to  the  base. 

*  “  Central  America,"  vol.  li.,  p.  440. 


188 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


The  truncated  pyramid  is  among  the  strongest  links 
in  the  chain  which  connects  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley  with  those  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America.  In  the  rude  earthworks  we  see  the  germ  of 
the  idea  which  was  subsequently  wrought  out  in  pro¬ 
portions  of  beauty  and  harmony,  giving  origin  to  a 
unique  style  of  architecture. 

Sepulchral  mounds. —  These  consist,  ofteil,  of  a  simple 
knoll,  or  a  group  of  knolls,  of  no  considerable  height, 
without  any  definite  arrangement.  Examples  of  this 
character  may  be  seen  at  Dubuque,  Merom,  Chicago, 
and  Laporte,  which,  on  exploration,  have  yielded  skulls 
differing  Avidely  from  the  Indian  type.  It  often  happens 
that  in  close  proximity  to  a  large  structure  there  is  an 
inconsiderable  one,  which  will  be  found  rich  in  rehcs. 
Squier  and  Davis  have  stated  that  it  is  rare  to  find  more 
than  one  skeleton  entombed  in  a  mound,  but  subsequent 
explorations  have  shoAvn  that  they  were  often  used  as 
places  for  general  burial.  The  corpse  was  almost 
invariably  placed  near  the  original  surface  of  the  soil, 
enveloped  in  bark  or  coarse  matting,  and  in  a  few 
instances,  fragments  of  cloth  have  been  observed  in 
this  connection.  Sometimes  a  vault  of  timber  was 
built  over  it,  and  in  others  it  was  enclosed  in  long  and 
broad  flags  of  stone.  Sometimes  it  was  placed  in  a  sit¬ 
ting  position,  again  it  was  extended,  and  still  again  it  was 
compressed  within  contracted  limits.  Trinkets  were  often 
strung  about  the  neck,  and  water-jugs,  drinking-cups,  and 
vases,  which  probably  contained  food,  were  placed  near 
the  head.  The  comparative  absence  of  warlike  imple¬ 
ments  is  a  noticeable  fact,  which  will  hereafter 
be  commented  upon.  Over  the  corpse  thus  arrayed,  a 
circular  mound  was  often  raised,  but  sometimes  nothing 
more  than  a  hillock.  This  fact  has  led  some  to  infer. 


BURIAL  RITES. 


189 


on  what  I  think  insufficient  grounds,  that  these  differ¬ 
ent  elasses  of  grave-hills  indieate  the  work  of  sepa¬ 
rate  races.  If  the  “  future  New  Zealander  ”  were 
to  visit  one  of  our  ehureh-yards,  whieh  had  been 
abandoned  for  a  thousand  years,  and,  groping  among 
the  ruins  and  finding  one  elass  of  graves  marked  by 
elaborately-wrought  monuments,  and  another  by  simple 
head-stones,  were  to  infer  that  they  were  the  work  of 
different  races,  it  is  evident  how  erroneous  would  be 
his  inferences. 

Dr.  Morton  has  said  “  that  from  Patagonia  to  Canada, 
and  from  oeean  to  oeean,  and  equally  in  the  civilized 
and  uncivilized  tribes,  a  j^eculiar  mode  of  placing  the 
body  in  sepulture  has  been  practised  from  immemorial 
time.  This  peeuliarity  consists  in  the  sitting  posture.”  * 
No  assertion  could  be  more  sweeping  and  less  consist¬ 
ent  with  facts.  No  prevailing  system  of  burial  ob¬ 
tained  among  the  iNIound-builders,  as  we  have  shown, 
nor  was  this  posture  peculiarly  an  American  usage. 

Both  cremation  and  inhumation  were  practised,  and 
I  doubt  not  at  the  same  time.  The  chareoal  layer  is  a 
frequent  aeeompaniment,  but  it  is  often  wanting.  “  The 
eeremonies  of  interment,”  Squier  and  Davis  aptly 
remark,  “  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  deduce  them  from 
these  monuments,  were  conducted  with  great  regularity 
and  system.  .  .  .  All  the  circumstances  seem  to  indi¬ 
eate  that  burial  was  a  solemn  and  deliberate  rite,  regu¬ 
lated  by  fixed  customs  of  perhaps  religious  or  super¬ 
stitious  origin.”  f 

The  details  of  explorations  at  points  far  asunder,  will 
give  the  reader  a  elearer  idea  of  the  funeral  ceremonies 


*  “  Crania  Americana,”  p.  244. 
t  “  Ancient  Monuments,”  pp.  ig6  and  197. 


190 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


practised  by  the  Mound-builders  than  a  general 
description. 

The  Grave  Creek  Mound,  twelve  miles  below  Wheel¬ 
ing,  in  West  Virginia,  is  the  most  notable  of  all  those 
in  the  Ohio  Valley. 

Fig.  14., 


Grave  Creek  Mound  West  Virginia.* 


It  is  seventy  feet  in  height  by  nine  hundred  in  cir¬ 
cumference,  and  is  destitute  of  lines  of  circumvallation. 
In  1838,  Mr.  A.  B.  Tomlinson,  the  owner  of  the  prem¬ 
ises,  carried  a  drift  along  the  original  surface  of  the 
ground  to  the  centre  of  the  mound,  and  sank  a  shaft 
from  the  summit  to  intercept  it.  “  At  the  distance  of 
one  hundred  and  eleven  feet,”  he  states,  in  a  pamphlet 
published  after  the  completion  of  the  explorations,  “  we 
came  to  a  vault,  which  had  been  excavated  before  the 
mound  was  commenced,  eight  by  twelve  feet  and  seven  in 
depth.  Along  each  side  and  across  the  ends,  upright  tim¬ 
bers  had  been  placed,  which  supported  timbers  thrown 
across  the  vault  as  a  ceiling.  These  timbers  were  cov¬ 
ered  with  loose  unhewn  stone,  common  to  the  neigh- 

*  This  sketch  is  reduced  from  Squier  and  Davis. 


GRAVE  CREEK  MOUNDS. 


191 


borhood.  The  timbers  bad  rotted  and  had  tumbled 
into  the  vault.  ...  In  this  vault  Avere  two  human 
skeletons,  one  of  which  had  no  ornaments ;  the  other 
was  surrounded  by  six  hundred  and  fifty  ivory  (shell) 
beads,  and  an  ivory  (bone)  ornament,  six  inches  long.” 

In  sinking  the  shaft,  at  thirty -four  feet  above  the  first 
or  bottom  vault,  a  similar  one  was  found,  enclosing  a 
skeleton  which  had  been  decorated  Avith  a  profusion  of 
shell-beads,  copper-rings,  and  plates  of  mica.  To  form 
a  just  idea  of  the  profusion  of  these  ornaments,  it  may 
be  stated  that  the  discs,  ciit  from  the  shell  of  the 
Busycon  ferveruim^  numbered  2,350  ;  the  small  shells, 
knoAvn  as  Marginella  apicina^  which  had  been 
pierced  at  the  shoulder  for  stringing,  numbered  500  ; 
and  the  specimens  of  mica  reached  250.  About  tAvo 
years  after  the  excaA’ation,  a  small  flat  stone,  inscribed 
with  antique  al))habetical  cliaracters,  was  produced  by 
the  proprietor,  Avhich,  he  claimed,  Avas  one  of  the  relics 
taken  from  the  mound.  This  stone  has  been  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  much  archcEological  learning,  and  the  characters 
are  pronounced  by  Schoolcraft  “to  be  such  as  Avere  used 
by  the  Pelasgi,  Avhich  is  the  parent  of  the  modern 
Runic,  as  Avell  as  the  Bardic.”  Like  the  “  Cincinnati 
Stone,”  and  the  “  Holy  Stone  of  Newark,”  it  is 
undoubtedly  a  stupid  forgery. 

Another  observer.  Dr.  Clemens,  states  that  “  in  car¬ 
rying  in  the  horizontal  excavation,  at  a  distance  of 
tAvelve  or  fifteen  feet,  Avere  found  numerous  masses 
composed  of  charcoal  and  burnt  bones.  .  .  .  On  reach¬ 
ing  the  lower  vault  from  the  top,  it  Avas  determined  to 
enlarge  it  for  the  accommodation  of  visitors,  Avhen  ten 
more  skeletons  were  discoAxred.” 

These  facts  show  that  the  principal  occupant  of  this 
mound,  as  indicated  by  its  magnitude,  was  a  royal  per- 


192 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSUEES. 


sona-ge ;  and  can  we  not  draw  the  further  inference 
that  many  of  his  attendants  were  strangled,  and  others 
were  sacrificed  as  a  burnt  offering  ?  Have  we  not  an 
explanation  of  many  of  these  facts,  in  the  ceremonies 
which  attended  the  burial  of  a  Scythian  king,  as 
described  by  the  Father  of  History  ? 

“The  body  of  the  dead  king,”  says  Herodotus,  “is 
laid  in  the  grave  prepared  for  it,  stretched  upon  a  mat¬ 
tress  ;  spears  are  fixed  in  the  ground  on  either  side  of 
the  corpse,  and  beams  are  stretched  across  above  it  to 
form  a  roof,  which  is  covered  with  a  thatching  of  osier 
twigs.  In  the  open  space  around  the  body  of  the  king, 
they  burn  one  of  his  concubines,  first  strangling  her, 
and  also  his  cup-bearer,  his  cook,  his  groom,  his  lacquey, 
his  messenger,  some  of  his  horses,  firstlings  of  all  his 
other  possessions,  and  some  golden  cups,  for  they  use 
neither  silver  nor  brass.  After  this  they  set  to  work 
and  raise  a  vast  mound  above  the  grave,  all  of  them 
vymg  with  each  other,  and  seeking  to  make  it  as  tall 
as  possible.”  * 

Note. — The  tomb  of  a  Scythian  king  was  opened  at  Kertch,  the  ancient 
Panticapjeum,  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  The  tumulus  which 
was  erected  over  it  was  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  in  diameter, 
formed  partly  of  earth  and  partly  of  rough  stones.  In  the  centre  was  a 
sepulchral  chamber,  fifteen  feet  by  fourteen,  with  a  vestibule  about  six 
feet  square.  Both  were  built  of  hewn  stones,  three  feet  long  and  five 
feet  high.  The  vestibule  was  empty,  but  the  chamber  contained  a 
number  of  most  curious  relics.  The  chief  place  was  occupied  by  a 
large  sarcophagus  of  yew  wood,  divided  into  two  compartments,  in  one  of 
which  lay  a  skeleton  of  unusual  size,  shown  by  its  ornaments,  especially 
a  golden  crown  or  initra,  to  be  the  king,  while  in  the  other  were  a 
golden  shield,  an  iron  sword,  with  a  hilt  richly  ornamented  and  plated 
with  gold,  a  whip,  the  remains  of  a  bow  and  bow-case,  and  five  small 
statuettes.  By  the  side  of  the  sarcophagus,  in  the  open  space  of  the 
tomb,  were,  first,  the  bones  of  a  female,  and  among  them  a  diadem  and 
other  ornaments  in  gold  and  electrum,  showing  that  she  was  the  queen ; 

“  Herodotus,”  book  iv.,  chapter  71. 


ST,  LOUIS  MOUND. 


193 


In  a  mound  removed  at  Vincennes,  Indiana,  in  1859, 
the  lowest  stratum  consisted  “  of  a  bed  of  human  bones 
arranged  in  a  circle  eighteen  feet  in  diameter,  closely- 
packed  and  pressed  together.  .  .  .  Skulls,  tibioe,  ribs, 
and  vertebrae  were  promiscuously  mingled,  as  though  a 
pile  of  bodies  had  been  heaped  up.” 

Mr.  Collett  describes  a  burial  vault  at  Merom,  Indi¬ 
ana,  “  three  stories  high,”  on  each  floor  of  which  “  from 
five  to  seven  human  skeletons  were  found.”* 

In  removing  the  mound  at  St.  Louis,  according  to  Mr. 
James  M.  Loring,  f  which  was  about  thirty-five  feet 
high,  there  was  found  at -the  depth  of  twenty-five  feet, 
what  was  once  apparently  a  trench  or  grave,  four  feet 
deep,  eighteen  feet  broad,  and  seventy  feet  long,  in 
which  had  been  buried  several  human  bodies.  The 
bones,  which  had  advanced  very  far  towards  decompo¬ 
sition,  indicated  that  they  belonged  to  individuals 
rather  above  the  ordinary  size.  The  heads  were  placed 
towards  the  east,  and  the  skeletons  occupied  a 
reclining  posture.  In  this  connection  were  found 
patches  of  cloth  of  a  coarse  texture,  and  more  or  less 
carbonized  ;  two  copper  vessels,  formed  like  a  spoon- 
bowl  ;  a  quantity  of  beads  which  evidently  had  been 
strung  and  wound  around  the  neck  and  head  of  the 

secondly,  the  bones  of  an  attendant  ;  and  thirdly,  in  an  excavation  in 
one  corner,  the  bones  of  a  horse.  There  were  also  found  electrum  beau¬ 
tifully  chased,  two  silver  vases  containing  drinking  cups,  four  amphorae 
in  earthen-ware  which  had  held  Thasian  wine,  and  three  large  bronze 
cauldrons,  containing  mutton  bones.  There  was  sufficient  evidence  to 
show  that  suits  of  clothes  had  been  hung  from  the  walls,  and  even  frag¬ 
ments  of  musical  instruments  were  discovered.  The  antiquity  of  this 
tomb  has  been  estimated  at  only  400-350  B.  C.  (Rawlinson’s  note  on 
Herodotus.)  It  must  be  confessed  that  these  Scythic  burial  rites  have  a 
strong  resemblance  to  those  of  the  Mound-builders. 

*  “  Second  Report  on  Geology  of  Indiana,”  p.  238. 
f  “  Missouri  Democrat,”  April  17,  1869. 

N 


194 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


reciimbent  warrior ;  and  also  a  quantity  of  small  sea- 
shells  of  the  same  character  as  those  found  at  Grave 
Creek. 

Mr.  E.  O.  Dunning  has  recently  explored  what  is 
known  as  the  Lick  Creek  Mound,  in  East  Tennessee. 

“  I  began,”  he  states,  “my  operations  on  the  east  side 
nearest  the  ‘  Dry  Creek,’  as  it  is  called,  by  digging  a 
trench  ten  feet  wide  to  the  centre.  The  surface  earth 
was  composed  of  sandy  loam,  with  such  an  intermixture 
of  clay  as  would  come  from  the  removal  of  the  top 
alluvium  of  the  surrounding  plain  with  portions  of  the 
substratum.  Charcoal  and  ashes  were  observed  for  six 
or  eight  feet,  when  we  came  to  a  layer  of  sand  a  foot  in 
thickness  and  several  yards  square.  Over  this  was  one 
of  burnt  clay,  upon  which  lay  a  mass  of  charcoal  and 
animal  bones.  The  last  had  been  broken  before  they 
were  laid  on  the  pile.  Underneath  the  stratum  of  sand 
was  a  layer  of  decayed  wood  and  bark,  covering  a  human 
skeleton.  This  rested  on  its  side  and  was  doubled  up, 
the  leg  bones  pressing  on  the  ribs  —  the  usual  position 
of  such  remains  in  all  the  mounds  I  have  examined. 
Implements  were  deposited  Avith  the  skeleton,  com¬ 
monly  at  the  head,  and,  if  a  vessel  of  earthen  ware,  at 
the  back  of  the  skull.  In  one  instance  four  vessels  were 
deposited  together.  In  an  excavation  fifteen  feet  in 
length,  eight  skeletons  were  observed  too  much  decayed 
to  be  removed  in  considerable  portions,  each  one  under 
a  layer  of  wood  or  bark  —  the  common  mode  of  sepul¬ 
ture  throughout  the  structure.  Near  the  centre  were 
the  remains  of  what  appeared  to  have  been  a  vault  of 
cedar  wood,  indicated  by  rotted  posts  set  in  an  upright 
position,  describing  a  rectangular  figure.  Slabs  or  logs 
of  the  same  material  as  the  post  had  evidently  connected 
the  frame  of  a  rude  coffin  or  vault.  Tavo  of  these  tombs 


MOUNDS  IN  OHIO. 


195 


were  observed,  one  above  the  other,  a  few  feet  apart ; 
within  each  space  lay  a  skeleton  with  some  of  the  most 
valuable  objects  sent  you.”  * 

Mr.  Dunning  further  states  that  other  excavations 
were  made  from  the  circumference  to  the  centre,  reveal¬ 
ing  the  remains  of  fifty  skeletons  lying  like  those  before 
exhumed.  While  he  inferred  that  this  large  mound 
might  have  contained  the  common  dead,  he  opened  a 
small  one  near  by,  which  from  the  profusion  and  beauty 
of  the  ornaments,  he  inferred  was  devoted  to  the  chiefs. 
The  wood  and  bark  layer  was  present  over  all  the 
skeletons,  and  a  pavement  of  river  stones  a  few  rods 
square  supported  each  frame.  Whenever  he  struck 
one  of  these  stone  layers  a  rich  deposit  was  sure  to  be 
his  reward.  The  ornaments  consisted  of  carved  pipes, 
beads,  and  ornamental  pins  in  shell,  discs  of  chalcedony, 
polished  axes  of  greenstone,  serpentine,  and  quartz,  and 
lance  and  arrow-heads. 

Squier  and  Davis  have  given  us  a  minute  account  of 
the  results  attending  the  excavation  of  a  sepulchral 
mound  near  Chillicothe,  Ohio.  The  mound  was  twenty- 
two  feet  high  and  ninety  feet  at  the  base.  At  ten  feet 
l)elow  the  surface  occurred  a  layer  of  charcoal,  from  two 
to  six  inches  in  thickness.  The  coal  was  coarse  and 
clean,  and  seemed  to  have  been  formed  by  the  sudden 
covering  up  of  the  wood  while  burning,  inasmuch  as  the 
trunks  and  branches  perfectly  retained  their  form, 
though  entirely  carbonized,  and  the  earth  above  as 
beneath,  was  burned  to  a  reddish  color. 

At  the  depth  of  twenty-two  feet,  and  on  a  level  with 
the  original  surface  was  a  iu;de  sarcophagus,  or  frame¬ 
work  of  timber,  seven  by  nine  feet  and  twenty-two 

*“  Fifth  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum,”  by  Professor  Jeffreys 
Wyman,  p.  12. 


196 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


inches  high,  reduced  to  an  almost  impalpable  powder, 
but  the  cast  of  which  was  still  retained  in  the  hard 
earth.  The  top  had  evidently  been  covered  by  other 
timbers,  and  at  the  bottom  was  laid  a  matting  of  bark, 
or  thin  strips  of  wood. 

Within  this  rude  coffin  were  the  remains  of  an 
extended  skeleton  with  the  head  to  the  west.*  In 
another  mound  explored  in  the  vicinity  at  the  base  of 
which  a  skeleton  was  discovered  enveloped  in  bark, 
the  head  was  directed  towards  the  south. 

In  the  so-called  bastions  at  Aztalan,  Wisconsin,  Lap- 
ham  found  the  corpse  occupying  a  sitting  posture,  and 
I  have  observed  the  same  fact  in  excavating  the  mounds 
in  the  regions  of  Dubuque  and  Chicago. 

This  usage  of  burying  in  a  sitting  posture  was  not 
confined  to  this  hemisphere.  Herodotus,  speaking  of 
the  wandering  tribes  of  Northern  Africa,  says:  “They 
bury  their  dead  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  G-reeks. 
.  .  .  They  bury  them  sitting,  and  are  right  careful 

when  the  sick  man  is  at  the  point  of  giving  up  the  ghost, 
to  make  him  sit,  and  not  to  let  him  die  lying  down.”  f 

The  ancient  Britons  often  buried  their  dead  in  the 
same  position,  the  hands  raised  to  the  neck,  and  the 
elbows  brought  to  the  knees. 

These  details  show  three  important  facts:  1,  That 
the  corpse  occupied  no  particular  position  in  reference 
to  the  cardinal  points ;  2,  That  its  posture  was  in  no 
degree  uniform ;  and,  3,  That  many  of  the  mounds  were 
used  for  miscellaneous  burial. 

The  stone  cists  surmounted  by  hillocks  of  earth,  which 
occur  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Tennessee,  have 
been  described  with  sufficient  minuteness  in  chapter  iii. 

*  “  Ancient  Monuments,”  p.  162. 

f ‘‘  Herodotus,”  book  iv,  chapter  19O. 


GREEK  BURIALS. 


197 


The  comparative  absence  of  warlike  implements  in 
the  mounds  is  a  peculiarity  which  also  characterizes  the 
decorations  of  Palenque  and  Copan,  and  hence  Stevens 
infers  that  the  people  were  not  warlike,  but  peaceable 
and  easily  subdued.  It  is,  certainly,  a  singular  fact, 
that  whilst  other  nations  illustrated  their  glory  by 
depicting  battles  and  sieges,  there  should,  on  these 
monuments,  be  an  entire  absence  of  these  representa¬ 
tions  of  human  conquest. 

That  men  in  the  early  stages  of  society  should  resort 
to  the  practice  of  erecting  mounds  over  the  dead,  seems 
but  natural.  There  is  an  instinctive  desire  on  the  part 
of  the  living  to  indicate  the  last  resting  place  of  a 
departed  friend  by  some  permanent  memorial,  and  at 
the  same  time,  to  protect,  his  remains  from  all  profane 
intrusion ;  and  no  method  is  more  effective  or  more 
easily  accomplished,  among  barbaric  tribes,  than  that 
of  rearing  a  mound.  Hence,  the  almost  universality 
of  the  custom.  Among  the  ancient  Greeks,  when  a 
hero  died,  each  warrior  cast  a  shieldful  of  earth  upon 
his  remains,  until  there  rose  up  a  mound  destined  to 
form  a  conspicuous  landmark  in  the  coming  ages. 

In  the  Odyssey,  book  xxiv,  the  following  ceremo¬ 
nies  are  described  as  having  taken  place  at  the  funeral 
of  Achilles : — 

1.  The  lamentation  over  the  dead  body  was  continued 

for  seventeen  days  and  nights. 

2.  Numerous  fat  sheep  and  oxen  were  sacrificed  at  the 

pile. 

3.  The  body  was  burnt  in  an  embroidered  robe,  amidst 

jars  of  sweet  unguent  and  honey. 

4.  A  war-dance  was  performed  round  the  pyre. 

5.  The  bones  of  the  deceased  were  collected  from  the 


198 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


ashes,  laid  in  sweet  unguent  and  wine,  and  de¬ 
posited  in  a  golden  urn. 

6.  In  the  same  urn  were  placed  those  of  his  dearest 

friend,  Patroclus ;  but  in  a  separate  urn,  those  of 
liis  next  dearest  friend,  Antilochus,  the  son  of 
Nestor. 

7.  Round  or  upon  these  urns  a  great  and  symmetrical 
tumulus  was  raised. 

8.  This  stood  on  a  conspicuous  headland,  expressly  that 
it  might  be  seen  from  afar  by  living  and  by  future 
generations  of  men.* 

In  the  Iliad,  book  xxiv,  the  following  facts  are  stated 
with  regard  to  the  burial  of  Hector  : — 

1.  For  nine  days  wood  for  the  pyre  was  collected  in 

carts,  to  which  oxen  and  mules  were  yoked. 

2.  The  body  was  laid  on  the  top  of  the  pyre,  which 

continued  burning  for  twenty-four  hours. 

3.  The  part  of  the  pyre  which  had  been  ignited  and 

was  still  smouldering,  was  completely  extinguished 
by  pouring  on  wine. 

4.  The  white  and  calcined  bones  were  carefully  picked 

out  of  the  ashes  by  the  friends  of  the  deceased. 

5.  These  bones  were  placed  in  a  metallic  urn. 

6.  The  urn  was  deposited  in  a  hollow  grave,  and  cov¬ 

ered  over  with  large  stones. 

7.  A  mound,  with  all  speed,  was  erected  over  the 

grave,  after  which  the  friends  returned  home  and 
partook  of  a  funeral  banquet. 

To  show  the  expensiveness  of  these  structures,  in  a 
single  instance,  it  may  be  stated  that,  in  later  times, 
Alexander  the  Great  caused  a  tumulus  to  be  heaped 
over  the  remains  of  his  friend  Hepheestion,  at  the  enor- 

*  Quoted  by  Stevens,  “  Flint  Chips,”  p.  184. 


URN  -  BURIAL. 


199 


mous  cost  of  1,200  talents  —  a  sum  in  excess  of 

11,000,000. 

Semiramis,  the  great  queen  of  Babylon,  buried  her 
husband  within  the  precincts  of  the  palace,  and  raised 
over  his  grave  a  great  mound  of  earth. 

The  Thracians,  according  to  Herodotus,  either  burnt 
the  body  of  the  departed,  or  buried  it  in  the  ground, 
raising  a  mound  over  the  grave,  and  holding  games  of 
all  sorts.* * * § 

Cremation,  as  well  as  tumulus-building,  as  shown  by 
Jacob  Grimm,  was  practised,  according  to  Caesar,  by 
the  Gauls  and  Celtic  races ;  according  to  Tacitus,  by 
the  Germans  and  by  the  Scandinavian  races,  as  well 
as  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans. f 

Thus  we  find  in  Western  Europe,  many  structures 
of  this  character  ;  —  in  Brittany,  Denmark,  in  the  Ork¬ 
neys,  and  in  England ;  and  turning  to  the  remoter  parts, 
we  find  them  in  India,  Algeria,  etc.  Mounds,  then,  are 
of  no  particular  value  in  tracing  national  affinities. 

Urn  burial  appears  to  have  been  practised  to  some 
extent  by  the  Mound-builders,  particidarly  in  some  of 
the  Southern  States.  In  the  mounds  on  the  Wateree 
River,  near  Camden,  South  Carolina,  according  to  Dr. 
Blanding,J  ranges  of  vases,  one  above  the  other,  filled 
with  human  remains,  were  found.  “  Sometimes,  when 
the  mouth  of  the  vase  is  small,  the  skull  is  placed  with 
the  face  downwards  in  the  opening,  constituting  a  sort 
of  cover.  Entire  cemeteries  have  been  found,  in  wliich 
urn  burial  alone  seems  to  have  been  practised.  Such 
a  one  was  accidentally  discovered,  not  many  years  since, 
in  St.  Catherine’s  Island,  on  the  coast  of  Georgia.  § 


*  Book  V,  chap.  8. 

t  “  Ueber  das  Verbrennen  der  Leichen,"  Leipsic,  1850. 

t  Cited  by  Squier  and  Davis,  p.  167. 

§  “  Ancient  Monuments,”  ibidem. 


200 


MOUNDS  AND  ENCLOSURES. 


Professor  Swallow  informs  me  that  from  a  mound  at 
New  Madrid,  Missouri,  he  obtained  a  human  skull, 
enclosed  in  an  earthen  jar,  the  lips  of  which  were  too 
small  to  admit  of  its  extraction  ;  it  must  therefore  have 
been  moulded  on  the  head  after  death. 

A  similar  mode  of  burial  was  practised  by  the  Chal¬ 
deans,  where  the  funeral  jars  often  contain  a  human  cra¬ 
nium  much  too  expanded  to  admit  of  the  possibility  of  its 
passing  out  of  it;  so  that,  “  either  the  clay  must  have  been 
modelled  over  the  corpse,  and  then  baked,  or  the  neck 
of  the  jar  must  have  been  added  subsequently  to  the 
other  rites  of  interment.”  * 

Cave  hurial  was  also  probably  resorted  to  by  the 
Mound-builders.  Human  remains  have  been  found 
under  such  circumstances  in  Kentucky,  Indiana,  Ten¬ 
nessee,  and  in  other  States,  but  as  it  is  impossible  to 
identify  these  cave-tenants  clearly  with  the  Mound- 
builders,  I  content  myself  with  this  passing  notice. 

Mounds  of  observation. —  Crowning  the  conspicuous 
points  which  overlook  the  valleys,  are  often  seen 
mounds  which  Squier  and  Davis  suggest,  may  have 
been  signal  or  alarm  posts. 

“  Between  Chillicothe  and  Columbus,  on  the  eastern 
border  of  the  Scioto  Valley,”  say  they,  “  not  far  from 
twenty  may  be  selected,  so  placed  in  respect  to  each 
other,  that  it  is  believed,  if  the  country  were  cleared 
of  forests,  signal  fires  might  be  transmitted  in  a  few 
minutes  along  the  whole  line.  On  a  hill  opposite  Chil¬ 
licothe,  nearly  six  hundred  feet  in  height,  the  loftiest  in 
the  entire  region,  one  of  these  mounds  is  placed.  .  .  . 
A  fire  built  upon  it  would  be  distinctly  visible  for 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  up,  and  an  equal  distance  down 
the  valley.”  The  works  at  Merom,  Indiana,  are  situ- 

*  “  Rawlinson’s  ‘  Herodotus,’  ”  Book  i.,  chapter  iq8  —  note. 


LOOKOUTS. 


201 


ated  on  a  narrow  ridge,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
feet  above  the  Wabash  Valley.  The  boldest  bluffs  in 
the  vicinity  of  Dubuque  are  crowned  with  mounds,  from 
which  an  immense  reach  of  the  Mississippi  can  be  com¬ 
prehended  by  the  observer.  At  Vincennes,  an  outlier 
of  the  upper  terrace  has  been  rounded  into  a  mound, 
which  forms  the  most  eonspicuous  feature  in  the  land¬ 
scape.  Whether  these  mounds  were  used  merely  as 
lookouts  may  well  be  doubted.  Their  position  shows 
that  the  sites  were  selected  in  reference  to  their  pictur¬ 
esque  beauty,  and  were  eligible,  whether  for  oecupancy, 
for  sacrificial,  or  sepulchral  purposes. 


THE  MOUND  -  BUILDEKS  —  THEIR  ARTS  AND  MANU¬ 
FACTURES. 


HERE  is  a  striking  similarity  in  the  implements  of 


-L  barbarous  nations,  however  widely-separated,  and 
this  similarity  extends  not  only  to  their  form,  but  to  the 
material  employed.  Too  much  importance  must  not  be 
attached  to  these  coincidences  in  tracing  national  affini¬ 
ties.  If  we  were  to  suppose  that  a  person  in  the  full 
possession  of  his  physical  jDowers,  but  with  no  previous 
experience,  were  placed  on  an  uninhabited  island  and 
compelled  to  rely  on  his  own  ingenuity  for  acquiring  a 
subsistence,  he  would  first  resort  to  the  pebhle  as  an 
auxiliary  power.  With  this,  like  some  of  the  monkey 
tribes,  he  could  crack  nuts ;  and  when  hurled,  it  would 
be  more  effective  than  a  blow  dealt  with  the  clenched 
hand.  If  he  succeeded  in  capturing  any  small  game, 
he  would  learn  that  this  pebble,  chipped  to  a  sharp  edge, 
would  materially  aid  him  in  stripping  off  the  hide  or  dis- 
embowelhng  the  carcass.  A  brief  experience  would 
teach  him  that  certain  kinds  of  stone  possessed  this 
property  to  a  greater  extent  than  others,  but  that  of  all 
kinds,  obsidian,  flint,  and  chert  were  the  most  readily 
cleavable,  and  that  with  these,  he  could  cut,  or  saw,  or 
pierce,  or  drill,  or  bore.  With  his  new  experience,  he 
wordd,  ere  long,  find  that  a  slender  reed,  tipped  with  a 


202 


OBSroiAl^  FLAKES. 


203 


flint-point  and  pear-shaped,  could  be  hurled  more  accu¬ 
rately  and  more  effectively  than  a  pebble,  and  hence  the 
javelin.  Improving  on  this  idea,  and  finding  that  the 
branches  of  trees  had  an  elastic  force,  and  the  sinews 
and  entrails  of  the  deer  had  great  tensile  strength,  he 
would  construct  a  bow  and  reduce  his  javelin  to  the  size 
of  an  arrow.  He  now  finds  himself  in  possession  of  a 
weapon  capable  of  repeated  discharges,  and  with  which 
he  can  bring  down  the  largest  as  well  as  the  smallest 
game.  Still  experimenting,  he  finds  that  if  his  arrow¬ 
head  is  barbed,  it  will  cling  to  the  side  of  his  victim, 
and  he  has  but  to  follow  in  the  trail  to  secure  his  prey. 
Thus  equipped,  the  Indian,  at  this  day,  brings  down 
the  buffalo  on  the  plains,  and  shrinks  not  from  an 
encounter  with  the  ferocious  grizzly  bear  of  the  moun¬ 
tains  ;  and  the  Hottentot  undaunted  assails  the  lion  and 
rhinoceros. 

While  our  unenlightened  Crusoe  finds  in  the  flint- 
flake  so  many  applications,  there  are  other  processes, 
such  as  hacking  and  pounding,  to  which,  by  reason  of  its 
frangibility,  flint  or  obsidian  is  not  adapted.  A  tougher 
material  is  required,  and  this  he  finds  in  greenstone  and 
porphyry.  He  selects  a  water-worn  pebble  as  near  the 
desired  shape  as  possible,  and  to  secure  it  to  a  handle 
for  the  purpose  of  being  wielded,  he  cuts  a  groove  at  one 
end,  and  with  the  deer’s  sinew  lashes  it  securely  ;  and 
that  the  mass  sliall  o^ipose  the  least  resistance  to  the 
surface  to  be  cut  away,  it  is  ground  down  wedge-shaped. 
Greenstone,  flint,  and  chert  are  common  to  almost 
every  region  of  the  earth,  and  the  human  race,  where- 
ever  dispersed,  appear,  as  it  were,  instinctively  to  have 
become  possessed  of  a  knowledge  of  their  respective 
properties.  In  the  volcanic  regions  of  Mexico,  at  this 
day,  obsidian  is  largely  employed,  where  iron  is  attain- 


204  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 

able.  In  Colorado,  I  have  seen  beautiful  arrow-heads  of 
chalcedony ;  and  the  Indian  of  the  mountains  will  econo¬ 
mize  the  tliick  parts  of  a  junk-bottle  which  some 
traveller  has  cast  aside,  by  chipping  it  into  such  weapons. 

These  flint-flakes  are  made  very  rapidly,  not  by  blows 
but  by  strong  pressure.  Torquemada,  as  quoted  by 
Tylor,*  has  given  us  a  description  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  Aztecs  obtained  their  obsidian  flakes.  One 
of  the  Indian  workmen  sits  upon  the  ground,  and 
selecting  a  piece  of  this  stone,  say,  eight  inches  long 
and  as  thick  as  one’s  leg,  with  a  stick  as  large  as  the 
shaft  of  a  lance,  and  a  little  more  than  three  cubits  long, 
to  the  end  of  which  is  firmly  fastened  another  piece  of 
wood  eight  inches  long  to  give  it  more  weight,  he  com¬ 
mences  operations.  He  brings  his  feet  together,  securing 
the  stone  as  in  a  vise,  then  taking  the  stick  in  both 
hands,  and  pressing  one  end  against  his  breast  and  setting 
the  other  well  home  against  the  edge  of  the  front  of  the 
stone,  and  exerting  a  strong  pressure,  off  flies  a  knife, 
which  is  sharpened  on  a  stone  to  give  it  a  fine  edge. 
“  In  a  very  short  time,”  says  our  author,  “these  work¬ 
men  will  make  more  than  twenty  knives  in  the  aforesaid 
manner.”  f 

Arrow-heads. —  The  arrow-heads  of  Europe  have  been 
classified  by  Sir  R.  W.  Wilde  into  five  divisions :  1, 
Those  which  are  triangular  ;  2,  Those  which  are  indented 
at  the  base ;  3,  Those  which  are  stemmed;  4,  Those  which 
are  harhed ;  and,  5,  Those  which  are  leaf-shaped.  All 
these  forms  are  represented  in  the  United  States,  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  subjoined  illustrations  taken  from 
specimens  in  the  Collection  of  the  Historical  Society  of 
Chicago. 

*  “  Anahuac,”  etc. 

t  As  to  the  mode  of  manufacture,  see  Lubbock,  “  Pre-historic  Times,” 
p.  84. 


ABROW- HEADS. 


205 


Fig.  15=  §• 


1  2  3  4  5 


Different  forms  of  arrow-heads. 

Three  other  forms  occur  which  are  sufficiently  dis¬ 
tinctive  to  justify  an  enlargement  of  the  above  classifi¬ 
cation.  They  may  be  designated,  6,  Those  which  are 
lozenge-s^haped ;  7,  Those  which  are  dirk-shaped ;  and, 
8,  Those  which  are  bevelled* 


Fig.  16  =  1. 


Different  forms  of  arrow-heads. 


*  For  the  purpose  of  comparison  with  European  forms,  vide  Lubbock’s 
Pre-historic  Times,”  p.  103. 


206  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


Nos.  6  and  7  are  common,  but  No.  8  is  rare.  The 
specimen  represented  is  from  Professor  Cox’s  Collection, 
and  the  two  edges  are  symmetrically  bevelled,  as  if  to 
give  it  a  rotary  motion.  The  angle  measures  exactly 
45°.  The  material  is  yellow  chert. 

As  most  of  the  arrow-heads  in  the  various  collections 
have  been  picked  up  in  ploughed  fields,  and  have  no 
local  history  attached  to  their  discovery,  it  is  impossible 
to  determine  how  far  they  are  the  work  of  the  Mound- 
builders  ;  in  fact,  it  may  be  said  they  are  rarely  found 
in  the  mounds. 

Colonel  Long  states  that  the  Indians  of  the  West  use 
two  kinds  of  arrows ;  the  one  for  hunting,  the  other  for 
war.  The  hunting  arrow  is  armed  with  a  leaf-shaped 
or  triangular  head,  sometimes  with  a  stemmed  head, 
but  never  with  one  possessing  barbs.  The  war-arrow 
has  invariably  a  barbed  head.  This  is  very  slightly 
attached  to  the  shaft,  so  that  if  the  arrow  enters  the 
body  of  an  enemy,  it  cannot  be  withdrawn  without  the 
Fig  17  ^  head  being  left  in  the  wound.  The 

~  hunting  arrow,  on  the  contrary,  has  the 
head  firmly  attached  to  the  shaft  by  the 
binding  of  a  deer’s  sinew.* 

Rimmers  and  borers.  —  Many  of  the 
implements  of  the  Mound-builders,  such 
as  their  pipes,  discs,  and  gorgets,  are 
bored  and  rimmed,  and  there  is  little 
doubt  that  for  this  purpose,  where  the 
material  was  soft,  they  employed  an 
instrument  like  that  represented  in  the 
margin.  They  are  very  common  in  most 
Rimmer  of  chert.  Collections. 

(Prof.  Cox’s  Collection.)  In  somc  of  thc  pierced  implements 

*“  Expedition  to  Rocky  Mountains,”  vol.  i,  pp.  2go-i. 


AGETCULTUTtAL  IMPLE^fENTS. 


207 


left  unfinished,  a  core  has  been  found  in  the  bottom, 
and  this  circumstance  has  led  Mr.  Charles  Rau  to  sug¬ 
gest  that  the  drilling  was  accomplished  by  a  hollow 
tube,  perhaps  a  joint  of  the  cane,  attached  to  a  bow- 
drill  to  give  it  a  rotary  motion,  and  feeding  it  with  sharp 
sand.*  The  holes  are  sunk  with  perfect  accuracy, 
showing  that  the  implement  was  turned  by  an  apparatus 
which  was  far  more  efficient  and  precise  than  the  human 
hand.  In  those  specimens  where  the  hole  displays  con¬ 
centric  rings  and  a  funnel-like  form,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  rimmer  was  employed. 

Agricultural  implements. —  Their  agricultural  instru¬ 
ments,  which  are  chipped  out  of  chert  or  quartzite, 

Fig.  18. 


Spades  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Alton,  Illinois.  (Chicago  Historical 
Society’s  Collection.) 

a.  Dimensions,  five  and  one-half  by  thirteen  inches. 

A  “  four  and  one-half  by  seven  and  one-half  inches. 

*  “  Smithsonian  Report,”  1868,  p.  398. 


208  THE  MOUND  -  BHH^DERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


evince  great  skill.  The  finest  specimens  are  obtained 
from  the  American  Bottom,  opposite  St.  Louis.  Above 
are  represented  two  forms  in  the  nature  of  spades,  from 
the  vicinity  of  Alton,  Ilhnois,  but  so  far  reduced 
as  to  convey  an  inadequate  idea  of  their  magnitude, 
except  by  protraction. 

These  implements  show  superior  workmanship,  and 
are  the  largest  which  I  have  ever  seen,  in  which  the 
flaking  process  has  been  employed.  They  are  flat  on 
one  side  and  slightly  oval  on  the  other,  and  the  smaller 
end  was  undoubtedly  attached  to  a  handle,  for  it  shows 
the  conchoidal  fracture  unobliterated,  while  the  broader 
end  is  polished  as  if  from  digging.  Mr.  Ran  has 
figured,  in  the  report  before  referred  to,  a  hoe  from  a 
mound  near  Illinoistown,  seven  and  one-half  by  six 
inches,  and  about  half  an  inch  thick  in  the  middle, 
with  two  notches  in  the  upper  part  for  the  attachment 
of  a  handle.* 

In  the  collection  of  Mr.  Perkins,  to  which  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  refer  more  particularly,  there  are  twelve 
ovoid  implements  of  chert,  sharp-pointed  at  each  end, 
perfectly  symmetrical  in  form,  most  dextrously  chipped, 
I  and  variable  in  size.  The  one  before  me  is  nine  and 
one-half  by  five  and  three-fourths  inches  in  diameter, 
and  is  the  third  in  size.  I  am  disposed  to  think  that 

*  I  may  not  have  given  proper  space  to  the  description  of  flint 
implements,  but  I  feel  the  necessity  of  abridgement.  Mr.  Perkins  has 
many  arrow-heads  which  are  almost  as  delicately,  serrated  as  a  shark’s 
tooth,  and  many  spear-heads  of  chert  and  quartzite,  which  evince  exquis¬ 
ite  skill  in  their  manufacture,  as  though  each  blow  was  designed  to  pro¬ 
duce  a  definite  result,  and  nothing  beyond. 

The  same  exquisite  finish  is  to  be  observed  in  many  of  the  spear¬ 
heads  secured  by  Dr.  Veile,  in  Yucatan.  Classifying  these  implements  as 
appertaining  to  the  Stone  Age,  according  to  the  received  authorities,  I 
have  only  to  say  that  they  evince  a  higher  degree  of  skill  than  is  dis¬ 
played  in  the  ground  and  polished  axes. 


STONE -AXES. 


209 


they  were  designed  for  agricultural  purposes.  (Found 
in  Lake  County,  Illinois,  in  a  nest,  one  above  the  other, 
the  largest  at  the  bottom.) 

Celts. — I  now  proceed  to  the  description  of  a  class  of 
utensils  represented  by  the  axe,  chisel,  flesher,  amulet, 
pendent,  etc.,  of  ground  and  often  polished  stone ;  and 
by  the  spear-head,  arrow-head,  knife,  dagger,  etc.,  of 
metallic  copper  ;  which  are  supposed  to  display  a  higher 
degree  of  skill,  and  a  greater  advance  in  civilization, 
than  belonged  to  the  Stone  Age.  These  utensils  are 
known  as  “  Celts,”  and  no  discrimination  is  made  by 
archaeologists,  whether  the  material  be  bronze,  copper, 
or  stone. 

Fig.  19  =  L 


a.  Toi-phyry  ;  crystals  of  feldspar,  in  a  red  paste. 

b.  Greenstone.  (Chicago  Historical  Society’s  Collection.) 


Axes. — The  stone-axe  was  among  the  most  efficient 
utensils  of  the  Mound-builder.  With  it  he  could  attack 
the  forest,  and,  aided  by  fire,  could  fashion  the  tree- 
trunk  into  a  pirogue, —  a  form  of  boat  which  was  V 
adopted  by  European  pioneers  in  those  regions  where 
the  canoe-birch  does  not  flourish. 


o 


210  THE  MOUND- BUn^DEKS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 

Greenstone  and  porphyry  were  the  materials  ordin¬ 
arily  selected,  and  they  were  fashioned  into  two  pre¬ 
vailing  forms  ;  one  was  cut  with  a  crease  near  the  head, 
and  the  other  was  ground  down  wedge-shaped,  but  both 
tapered  to  an  edge.  The  first  form  is  represented  in 
the  preceding  figures,  and  is  common  to  the  whole 
region  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Atlantic,  including 
New  England. 

The  crease,  as  in  i,  is  continued  only  on  three  sides, 
and  the  back  of  the  axe  is  left  flat,  so  that,  when  lashed 
to  the  handle,  it  could  be  tightened  by  wedging.  The 
average  weight  of  these  axes  is  about  two  pounds  ;  the 
smallest  weigh  not  more  than  one  ounce,  while  some 
weigh  eight  or  nine  pounds.  It  is  rare  to  find  them  in 
the  mounds,  but  many  have  undoubtedly  as  high  an 
antiquity  as  the  mounds  themselves. 

The  second  form  is  represented  in 

Fig.  20. 


a.  Stone-axe  from  Alton,  Illinois. 

b.  Stone-axe  from  Jackson,  Indiana, 


STONE  -  AXES. 


211 


Three  stone-axes  have  recently  heen  found  at  Mil¬ 
waukee,  and  Mr.  Perkins  has  one  in  his  collection, 
which  differ  from  all  hitherto  described.  They  are  of 
the  usual  form,  but  the  surface  is  ornamented  with  a 
series  of  longitudinal  flutings  of  uniform  depth  and 
width,  and  but  slightly  depressed.  The  axes  are  of 
large  size  and  well  finished,  and  the  material  is  of  the 
toughest  greenstone  (diorite).  These  are  the  only 
examples  observed  where  ornamentation  has  been 
attempted  in  this  class  of  implements. 

The  mode  of  attachment,  in  these  instances,  was  by 
inserting  the  axe-head  in  a  cleft  stick,  and  binding  it 
firmly  with  a  leather  thong  or  deer’s  sinew.  Examples 
of  such  attachment  are  to  be  seen  in  the  ancient  Per¬ 
sian  bronze  axes,  and  in  the  modern  African  axe.  The 
deer’s  antler,  mortised  out  to  receive  the  head,  may  also 
have  been  used  as  a  handle,  as  among  the  Swiss  pile- 
drivers,  affording,  as  it  does  a  material  in  which  are 
united  strength  and  toughness.* 

Sometimes  the  material  employed  in  these  axes  was 
brown  haematite,  which  was  often  ground  and  polished 
with  elaborate  care.  An  axe  of  this  character,  about 
inches  long,  broad,  and  thick,  was  taken  from 
a  shell-heap  on  the  banks  of  Grand  Lake,  Louisiana,  by 
Dr.  Dungan  of  St.  Jeaneret’s.  What  was  remarkable, 
it  exhibited  a  concentric  structure,  perfectly  conforming 
to  the  outline  of  the  axe,  and  where  the  outer  layer  had 
partly  peeled  off,  beautiful  dendritic  markings  were  to 
be  seen.  I  had  observed  this  concentric  structure  in 
other  implements  made  of  this  material,  and  as  it  is 
difficult  to  conceive  that  the  artizan  could  have  selected 
an  iron  nodule  of  the  precise  shape  of  the  implement  he 
wished  to  fabricate,  I  am  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 

*  For  the  mode  of  attachment,  see  Lubbock,  pp.  25  and  92. 


212 


THE  MO  END -BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


this  concretionary  structure  is  the  result  of  oxidation 
from  exposure  since  the  implement  was  finished. 

It  is  not  unusual  to  meet  with  perforated  objects 
which  are  classified  as  axes,  but  when  we  consider  the 
character  of  the  material,  a  green-colored  silicious  slate 
of  a  banded  structure,  ill  adapted  to  withstand  repeated 
shocks,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  they  were 
designed  for  ornament  and  not  for  use.  A  representa¬ 
tion  of  this  class  of  objects  is  given  in 


Fig.  21=1. 


Axe(?)  perforated,  from  Paris,  Kenosha  County,  Wisconsin.  (In  the 
Collection  of  Mr.  F.  S.  Perkins,  of  Burlington,  Wisconsin.) 

The  length  of  the  specimen  is  six  inches,  and  midway 
it  is  pierced  with  a  hole  not  quite  half  an  inch  in 
diameter,  which  is  perfectly  symmetrical,  having  parallel 
circular  lines,  as  though  it  had  been  perforated  by  a  drill 
in  a  fixed  position,  and  subjected  to  a  rotary  motion. 

I  have  before  me,  as  I  write,  a  collection  of  stone 
implements,  gathered  by  Dr.  J,  W.  Veile,  in  Yucatan. 
For  the  most  part  they  conform  in  shape  to  the  figures 
above  given.  The  material  employed  is  porphyry. 
Some  of  them  are  less  than  two  inches  in  length,  and 
the  edges  are  polished  as  if  from  use.  At  the  first  glance 
it  would  be  said  that  many  of  these  implements  were 
too  small  for  practical  purposes,  but  when  we  reflect 
that  the  material  out  of  which  the  ancient  inhabitants 
of  that  region  cut  their  basso-relievos,  was  a  soft 
coralline  limestone,  I  find,  by  experiment,  that  such  a 
tool  is  almost  as  effective  as  one  of  steel. 


FLESHEKS. 


213 


Some  of  these  implements,  however,  are  cylindrical 
in  shape,  with  the  convex  surface  brought  to  an  edge, 
and  the  opposite  side  ground  out  like  a  gouge  ;  and 
while  the  instrument  does  not  exceed  two  inches  in 
length,  I  can  imagine  that  it  would  be  etfective  in 
working  out  minute  details  in  their  sculptured  forms. 

The  hammers  and  mauls,  which  will  be  figured  in 
the  chajjter  relating  to  “  Ancient  Mining,”  consisted  of 
boulders  of  porphjTy  or  greenstone,  which  were  cut 
with  a  crease  for  the  reception  of  a  withe.  Of  the 
creased  axes  I  find  no  representations  in  European  spec¬ 
imens  ;  but  of  the  wedge-shaped,  almost  exact  counter¬ 
parts  are  found  in  Ireland  and  in  the  Swiss  Lakes.* 


Fig.  22. 


Fleshers  ;  a  is  of  steatite,  seven  inches  by  three.  (Chicago  Historical 
Society’s  Collection.)  b  is  of  greenstone,  eleven  inches  by  four. 
(Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences’  Collection,  presented  by  Mr.  Ches- 
brough.) 

Fleshers. —  The  stripping  of  the  hide  from  animals  of 
the  chase,  and  its  subsequent  preparation  to  fit  it  for 

*  Compare  Lubbock’s  figures,  •’ Pre-historic  Times,”  pp.  g2  and  i88, 
with  those  given  in  the  text. 


214  THE  MOUND -BUILD EES THEIR  ARTS. 

human  raiment,  must  have  been,  among  the  Mound- 
builders,  an  important  industrial  art.  With  their  cop¬ 
per  or  flint  knives,  the  hide  was  first  incised,  and  tlieu 
detached  from  the  flesh,  making  use  of  such  implements 
as  are  represented  above. 

Mr.  Titian  E,.  Peale,  the  naturalist  who  accompanied 
Colonel  Long’s  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
has  given  the  method  employed  by  the  Indians  for  the 
preservation  of  skins,  a  method  analogous  probably  to  that 
in  use  among  the  Mound-builders.  “  The  material  used,” 
he  states,  “  is  principally  the  brains  of  the  animal  from 
which  they  were  taken.  While  the  skins  are  fresh  or 
in  their  green  state,  they  are  stretched  on  the  ground, 
and  scraped  with  an  implement  of  bone  or  stone,  resem¬ 
bling  an  adze ;  the  adhering  portions  of  flesh  are  removed, 
and  the  surface  is  then  plastered  over  with  the  brains, 
mixed  in  some  cases  with  the  liver,  and  on  this  is  poured, 
from  time  to  time,  warm  water  in  which  meat  has  been 
boiled.  The  whole  is  then  suffered  to  dry,  after  which 
the  skin  is  again  subjected  to  the  action  of  the  brain 
and  hot  water,  further  stretched,  and  while  still  wet, 
scraped  and  rubbed  with  stones  until  perfectly  dry.  It 
IS  further  softened  by  rubbing  and  passing  it  back¬ 
ward  and  forward  over  a  twisted  sinew,  stretched  hori¬ 
zontally.”  * 

In  the  following  figure  we  have  undoubtedly  a  repre¬ 
sentation  of  a  scraper  which  was  employed  in  this  pro¬ 
cess. 

*  “  Smithsonian  Report, "  1870,  p.  390. 


PIPES. 


215 


Fig.  23  ==  h 


Scraper  of  greenstone,  seven  inches  by  six,  and  three-quarters  of  an  incli 
at  the  base  ;  ground  to  an  edge  on  three  sides.  Found  in  Sullivan 
County,  Indiana.  (Professor  Cox’s  Collection.) 

This  instrument  from  its  size,  was  probably  held  in 
both  hands,  and  used  very  much  as  the  currier’s  stretch¬ 
ing  iron  is  at  this  day ; — to  remove  any  traces  of  tan,  to 
press  out  the  thick  places  in  the  hide,  and  to  close  the 
pores  of  the  leather. 

Pipes.  —  The  Mound-builders  were  well  aware  of  the 
narcotic  properties  of  tobacco,  a  plant  which  is  indigen¬ 
ous  to  America,  and  wliich,  since  the  discovery  of  the 
western  continent,  has  been  domesticated  in  every 
region  of  the  earth  where  the  soil  and  climate  are  favor¬ 
able  to  its  cultivation.  No  habit,  at  this  day,  it  may 
be  said,  is  more  universal  or  more  difficult  to  eradicate 
than  that  of  smoking.  With  the  Mound-builder  tobacco 
was  the  greatest  of  luxuries  ;  his  solace  in  his  hours  of 
relaxation,  and  the  choicest  offering  he  could  dedicate 
to  the  Great  Spirit.  Upon  his  jiipes  he  lavished  all  the 
skill  he  possessed  in  the  lapidary’s  art. 

“  From  the  red  stone  of  the  quarry 
With  his  hand  he  broke  a  fragment, 

Moulded  it  into  a  pipe-head. 

Shaped  and  fashioned  it  with  figures.”  • 


216  THE  MOHHD  -  BHHLDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 

Squier  and  Davis  have  given  several  representations 
of  these  objects,  where  we  have  the  sculptured  figures 
of  birds,  quadrupeds,  and  marine  animals,  many  of  which 
belong  to  a  different  latitude,  such  as  the  manati  or  sea- 
cow,  which  inhabits  the  warm  waters  of  the  Atlantic ; 
the  toucan,  a  tropical  bird ;  the  Carolina  parrot,  etc. 
Many  of  these  pipes  are  sculptured  from  the  most  obdu¬ 
rate  stones  and  display  great  delicacy  of  workmanship. 
The  features  of  animals  are  so  truthfully  cut  that  often 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  their  identification,  and  even  the 
plumage  of  birds  is  delineated  by  curved  or  straight 
lines  which  show  a  close  adherence  to  nature.  The 
bowl  and  stem  piece,  wrought  from  a  single  block,  are 
as  accurately  drilled  as  they  could  be  at  this  day,  by 
the  lapidary’s  art.  This  latter  process  was  undoubtedly 
accomplished  by  machinery,  but  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
how  machinery  could  have  cut  the  sharp  curved  lines 
and  the  ridges  and  depressions  represented  in  the 
animal  forms. 

Fig.  24. 


I  submit  one  figure  of  this  kind,  the  original  of  which 
is  wrought  from  a  light-colored  porphyry,  and  is  highly 
polished.  It  was  obtained  from  a  mound  near  Laporte, 
Indiana,  by  Dr.  Higday. 


PESTLES. 


217 


It  is  not  quite  clear  what  animal  the  unknown  sculp¬ 
tor  intended  to  represent,  but  the  short  broad  head  and 
massive  jaws  would  indicate  that  it  is  one  of  the  Car¬ 
nivora,  perhaps  the  puma  or  panther. 

Pestles. —  To  grind  maize  so  as  to  fit  it  for  cooking, 
undoubtedly  entered  largely  into  the  domestic  economy 
of  every  Mound-builder’s  family.  This  was  accom¬ 
plished  by  the  mortar  and  pestle.  Of  the  latter,  there 
is  a  variety  of  forms.  Some  are  cylindrical,  some 
bell-shaped,  and  some  cone-like.  The  materials  are  also 
various ;  consisting  of  greenstone,  sienite,  quartz,  etc., 
and  sometimes  of  sandstone.  The  latter,  however,  has 
not  the  toughness  to  make  a  good  implement.  I  give 
two  illustrations. 


Fig.  25. 


Pestles  for  pulverizing  maize.  (ProfessorCox’s  Collection.  Indianapolis.) 

Specimen  a  is  composed  of  sienite  with  a  well-marked  rim  at  the  base, 
and  was  found  at  Corydon,  Crawford  County,  Indiana. 

The  other  specimen,  b,  is  bell-shaped  ;  the  material  is  quartzite,  and  the 
locality  was  on  the  first  terrace-bank  of  the  Ohio  River,  near  an  arti¬ 
ficial  shell-heap.  Perry  County,  Indiana. 


218  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


There  is  another  pestle  in  this  collection, of  quartzite,  found  in  Marion 
County,  Indiana,  which  differs  from  the  preceding,  it  being  semi- 
cylindrical  throughout.  The  dimensions  are  eleven  by  two  and  one- 
fourth,  by  one  and  three-quarter  inches. 

The  foregoing  examples  approach  in  their  general 
form,  those  given  by  Squier  and  Davis,  Fig.  118. 

Barh-peelers. —  In  Professor  Cox’s  Collection,  is  an 
implement,  long  and  cylindrical,  but  brought  to  an  edge, 
which  I  am  disposed  to  think  was  used  as  a  bark-peeler, 
having  been  held  in  the  hand.  The  material  is  a  dark- 
colored  hornblende. 

Discoidal  implements.  —  There  is  another  class  of 
implements  of  frequent  occurrence,  which  are  often 
symmetrically  wrought  and  polished  from  the  hardest 
materials.  They  are  circular  in  form,  capsule-shaped, 
and  pierced  in  the  centre  with  a  hole.  One  of  these  is 
represented  in  the  subjoined 

Fig.  26  =  i. 


a  b 


a.  Discoidal  stone  found  in  Kentucky. 

b.  Cross  section  of  the  same.  (Professor  Cox’s  Collection.) 

This  specimen  is  of  an  amber-colored  translucent 
quartz,  and  is  symmetrically  ground  and  polished  ;  and, 
taking  into  consideration  the  hardness  of  the  material 
which  resists  a  steel  edge,  we  have  results  which  at 
this  day  can  only  be  attained  by  the  lapidary's 


DISCS. 


219 


wheel,  armed  with  emery  or  diamond  dust.  Nothing 
which  I  have  seen  among  the  Mound-builders’  imple¬ 
ments,  with  the  exception  of  the  pipes,  evinces  a  higher 
degree  of  skill  than  is  displayed  in  this  specimen. 

There  is  another  implement  in  this  collection,  from 
the  same  region,  of  a  similar  form  but  slightly  ovoid 
and  somewhat  larger,  where  the  material  employed  is 
greenstone,  and  still  another  of  sandstone,  flat  on  one 
side  and  discoidal  on  the  other,  but  without  a  hole  in 
the  centre.  Squier  and  Davis  have  given  several 
representations  of  specimens  like  the  above,  in  Fig.  121 
of  their  work. 

Much  speculation  has  been  indulged  in  as  to  the  uses 
of  these  discoidal  stones.  Schoolcraft^  has  suggested 
that  they  were  used  as  quoits,  and  that  the  object  of 
casting  them  was  to  ring  an  upright  peg,  set  m  the 
ground,  but  the  hole  is  so  small  in  many  instances  as  to 
admit  of  no  such  a  supposition,  and  in  other  instances 
it  is  wanting.  Besides,  would  they  employ  an  imple¬ 
ment  on  which  they  had  bestowed  such  an  amount  of 
toil  in  a  "ame  where  it  would  be  liable  to  fracture  ?  The 

O 

edges  are  not  notched,  nor  is  there  any  indication  that 
these  stones  had  been  subjected  to  rough  usage. 

Squier  and  Davis  have  quoted  a  number  of  authori¬ 
ties  as  to  Indian  pastimes,  in  which  a  similar  implement 
is  used.f  Thus,  Mr.  J.  B.  Finley,  formerly  a  mission¬ 
ary  to  the  Ohio  Indian  tribes,  has  described  a  popular 
game  among  them,  much  resembling  “  tenpins,”  in 
which  the  stone  was  grasped  on  the  concave  side  by 
tlie  thumb  and  second  Anger,  while  the  foreflnger 
pressed  upon  the  periphery, 

Du  Pratz  notices  the  same  game,  and  shows  that 

*  “  Archseology  of  Aboriginal  Knowledge,”  vol.  i.,  p.  407. 

f  “  Ancient  Monuments,”  p.  223. 


220 


THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


these  stones,  when  rolled,  would  describe  a  convolute 
figure. 

Adair,  in  his  “  History  of  American  Indians,” 
describes  a  favorite  game  among  the  warriors,  called 
Cliungke,  played  on  a  piece  of  level  ground,  kept  clear, 
and  occasionally  strewn  with  sand.  Only  one  or  two 
on  a  side  play  at  this  game.  They  have  a  stone  about 
“  two  fingers  broad  at  the  edge,  and  two  spans  round  ;  ” 
each  party  has  a  pole  about  eight  feet  in  length,  smooth 
and  tapering  at  each  end,  the  points  flat.  The  players 
start  off  abreast  of  each  other,  at  six  yards  from  the 
play-ground,  and  one  of  them  rolls  the  stone  on  its 
edge,  in  as  direct  a  line  as  he  can,  a  considerable  dis¬ 
tance  towards  the  middle  of  the  other  end  of  the 
ground.  When  they  have  run  a  few  yards,  each  darts 
his  pole  after  the  stone.  Should  either  spear  touch 
the  stone,  the  player  counts  two  of  the  game ;  and  in 
proportion  of  the  nearness  of  the  poles  to  the  mark, 
one  is  counted,  unless  by  measurement  both  are  found 
to  be  an  equal  distance  from  the  stone.  In  this  manner 
they  will  continue  running  most  of  the  day  at  half 
speed,  under  the  violent  heat  of  the  sun,  staking  their 
ornaments  and  even  their  wearing  apparel.  “  All  the 
American  Indians  are  much  addicted  to  this  game 
which  appears  to  be  a  task  of  stupid  drudgery  ;  it  seems, 
however,  to  be  of  early  origin.  The  hurling  stones, 
which  they  still  use,  have  been,  from  time  immemorial, 
rubbed  smooth  on  the  rocks,  and  with  prodigious  labor. 
They  are  kept  with  the  strictest  religious  care  from  one 
generation  to  another,  and  are  exempt  from  being  buried 
with  the  dead.  They  belong  to  the  town  where  they 
are  used,  and  are  carefully  preserved.”* 

Du  Pratz,  Breckenridge,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  and  Gatlin, 

*  Adair’s  “  History,”  etc.,  p.  402. 


TOTEMS. 


221 


all  describe  a  somewhat  similar  pastime  among  the  dif¬ 
ferent  tribes  of  Indians  with  whom  they  were  brought 
in  contact.  Bartram  describes  the  Gliunky-yard^  in  the 
Creek  villages,  in  which  a  similar  game  was  played. 

When  we^see  represented  on  the  monuments  of 
Egypt  the  game  of  “  ball,”  played  apparently  as  at  this 
day,  by  tossing  and  catching,  we  can  well  conceive  how 
national  pastimes  can  be  perpetuated  from  time  imme¬ 
morial. 

“  In  the  plains  and  upon  the  mountains”  (of  Chili), 
says  Molina,  “  are  to  be  seen  a  great  number  of  flat 
circular  stones,  of  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter,  with  a 
hole  through  the  middle.  These  stones,  which  are  of 
either  granite  or  porphyry,  have  doubtless  received  this 
form  by  artificial  means,  and  I  am  induced  to  believe 
that  they  were  the  clubs  or  maces  of  the  ancient  Chili¬ 
ans,  and  that  the  holes  were  perforated  to  receive  the 
handles.”  * 

Colonel  C.  W.  Jenkes,  from  the  mountain  region  of 
North  Carolina,  communicates  to  me  the  information 
that  there  have  recently  been  found  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  ancient  sepulchres  before  described,  two  specimens 
of  quartz  which  have  been  very  symmetrically  wrought. 
They  are  perfectly  circular,  eight  inches  in  diameter, 
three  inches  thick  on  the  outer  rim,  and  hollowed  to 
the  depth  of  an  inch  on  each  side,  as  perfectly  as 
though  turned  in  a  lathe.  He  was  strongly  impressed 
with  their  beauty  of  form  and  color,  and  the  mechanical 
skill  displayed,  far  above  anything  in  mere  Indian 
relics. 

Totem  ?  —  Another  implement  of  no  practical  use, 
but  undoubtedly  designed  as  an  ornamentor  perhaps  a 
totem,  is  represented  on  the  following  page. 

*  Molina,  vol.  i.,  p.  56. 


222 


THE  MO TTN35  -  BUILDERS - THEIR  ARTS. 


Fig.  27=  §. 


Ornamental  figure,  found  at  Jackson,  Wisconsin.  (In  the  Collection  of 
Mr.  F.  S.  Perkins.) 

The  material  is  the  ribhoned-silicious  slate,  so  often 
described,  and  the  figure,  which  approaches  the  bird 
more  nearly  than  any  animate  object,  is  symmetrically 
carved  and  polished.  It  is,  notwithstanding  its  incon¬ 
gruity,  a  beautiful  specimen  of  pre-historic  work¬ 
manship.  Dr.  Lapham  sends  me  a  similar  figure  in 
serpentine,  but  the  eye-like  appendages  have  been 
broken  off. 

The  following  implement  is  unique,  so  far  as  I  have 
observed,  and  I  have  no  conjecture  to  offer  as  to  its  use. 
It  is  of  sienite,  rubbed  down  smooth.  The  bottom  is 
hollowed  out  boat-shaped,  and  it  is  pierced,  at  either 
end,  with  a  hole. 

Fig.  28 =i. 


Implement  found  near  Danville,  Illinois.  (Dr.  J.  C.  Winslow’s 
Collection.) 

Textile  fabrics  and  the  implements  employed  in  their 
manufacture. —  The  Mound-builders  clothed  themselves, 


TEXTILE  FABRICS. 


223 


in  part  at  least,  not  in  skins  like  the  Indian  ;  not  like 
the  Sandwich  Islander,  in  cloth  made  of  the  macerated 
bark  of  certain  trees;  nor  hke  the  dwellers  of  the  Swiss 
Lakes,  in  matted  sheets  of  vegetable  fibre  ;  but  in  cloth 
regularly  spun  with  a  uniform  thread,  and  woven  with 
a  warp  and  woof.  This  evidence  of  their  advance  in 
civilization  beyond  a  mere  barbaric  race,  was  first  dis¬ 
covered  by  me  as  far  back  as  1838,  and  desci’ibed  in 
1851 ;  *  and  it  is  a  matter  of  such  importance  in  the 
ethnology  of  this  mysterious  race,  that  I  will  here 
recapitulate  the  facts. 

As  far  back  as  1838,  while  engaged  in  geological 
investigations  in  Southern  Ohio,  I  procured  from  a  per¬ 
son  residing  at  Charlestown,  Jackson  County,  several 
fragments  of  cloth  wdiich  had  been  taken  a  few  days 
previously  from  a  low  mound  in  that  vicinity.  It  was 
found  near  the  original  surface,  enveloping  several  sets 
of  copper  bracelets,  and  for  the  most  part  was  so  far 
decayed  as  to  exhibit  only  the  textile  structure,  but 
some  of  the  fragments  were  in  a  good  state  of  preser¬ 
vation. 

This  fact  was  so  novel  in  itself  and  so  at  variance 
with  the  prevailing  ideas  as  to  the  degree  of  civilization 
and  knowledge  of  the  arts  among  the  Mound-builders, 
that  I  hesitated  about  making  it  public,  fearing  that 
the  cloth  might  be  a  modern  substitution,  and  that  by 
publishing  the  fact,  I  might  be  the  means  of  propa¬ 
gating  an  error. 

Subsequently,  in  1851,  Mr.  John  Woods,  a  gentleman 
of  high  character  and  who  occupied  a  responsible  official 
position  in  Ohio,  sent  me  additional  samples,  together 

*  “  Description  of  samples  of  ancient  cloth,  from  the  Mounds  of 
Ohio.”  Proceedings  American  Association  for  the  .Advancement  of 
Science,  p.  375.  (Albany  Meeting,  1851.) 


224 


TBffi  MOUND -BUILDEKS - THEIR  ARTS. 


with  a  minute  description  of  the  circumstances  under 
which  they  were  found.  This  evidence  was  so  con¬ 
clusive  that  I  no  longer  hesitated  as  to  the  authentic 
character  of  my  previous  discoveries. 

The  following  is  a  condensed  statement  of  the  facts 
communicated  by  Mr.  Woods.  The  cloth  which  he  sent 
me  was  taken  from  a  mound  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Great  Miami  River,  in  Madison  Township,  Butler 
County,  Ohio,  two  miles  north  of  Middletown.  The 
mound  originally  was  about  twenty  feet  high,  and  when 
Mr.  Woods  first  saw  it,  thirty  years  previously,  it  was 
probably  sixteen  feet  high.  Fifty  years  ago,  according 
to  the  testimony  of  the  old  settlers,  it  was  covered  with 
large  forest  trees.  The  Cincinnati,  Hamilton,  and 
Dayton  Railway  cuts  one  side  of  the  mound,  half  of 
which  had  been  removed  to  form  the  track.  The 
workmen  said  that,  in  making  the  excavation,  they  had 
found  an  arrow-head  and  a  Considerable  quantity  of 
charcoal,  cloth,  and  bones.  Mr.  Woods  states  that  he 
took  a  shovel,  and  after  removing  the  earth  until  he 
was  sure  that  he  was  down  as  far  as  the  formation  had 
been  disturbed,  took  out  several  shovelsful  of  earth, 
charcoal,  and  cloth  ,  the  charcoal  belonging  apparently 
to  the  oak  and  sugar  maple.  The  workmen  said  that 
they  had  found  pieces  of  cloth  connected  with  tassels 
or  ornaments. 

About  ten  feet  from  the  top  of  the  mound  there 
occurred  a  firm,  compact  stratum  of  fine  clay,  an  inch 
thick,  which  appeared  as  if  it  had  been  burned  until  it 
was  red ;  under  this,  near  the  middle  of  the  mound,  was 
another  stratum,  of  a  beautiful  fine-yellow  or  cream- 
colored  clay,  entirely  different  from  anything  in  the 
neighborhood.  Under  this  stratum  he  found  the  char¬ 
coal,  cloth,  and  bones.  The  mass  was  so  loose  that  he 


TEXTILE  FABRICS. 


225 


could  almost  with  his  hand,  sink  down  the  shovel 
eighteen  or  twenty  inches,  very  little  earth  being  inter¬ 
mixed.  The  charcoal  was  outside  the  cloth  ;  the  latter 
was  in  thick  folds  and  very  much  charred ;  the  bones 
were  few  and  small.  The  strata  of  burnt  and  yellow 
clay  did  not  extend  through  the  whole  mound,  but 
occupied  an  area  of  only  five  or  six  feet  broad. 

The  fabric  in  both  the  samples  which  I  have  described, 
appears  to  be  comjiosed  of  some  material  allied  to  hemp, 
but  less  readily  recognized  in  the  charred  specimens 
from  Butler  County  than  in  those  from  Jackson  County, 
and  the  separation  between  the  fibre  and  the  wood 
appears  to  have  been  as  thorough  and  effectual  as  at 
this  day  by  the  process  of  rotting  and  heckling. 
The  threa'd,  though  coarse,  is  uniform  in  size,  and  regu¬ 
larly  spun.  Two  modes  of  weaving  are 
recognized :  in  one  by  the  alternate  inter¬ 
section  of  the  warp  and  woof;  and  in 
the  other  the  weft  is  wound  once  around 
the  warp, —  a  process  which  could  not  be 
accomplished  except  by  hand.  In  the 
illustration  the  interstices  have  been 
enlarged  to  show  the  method  of  weaving, 
but  in  the  original  the  texture  was 
about  the  same  as  that  in  coarse  sail¬ 
cloth.  In  some  of  the  Butler  County 

specimens,  there  is  evidently  a  fringed  , 

^  •/  o  Cloth  irom  mounds 

border.  in  Ohio. 

In  the  specimens  of  pottery  where  the  human  figure 
is  represented,  there  is,  most  generally  a  head-dress 
which,  without  doubt,  was  of  cloth,  and  there  is  one 
statuette  of  a  captive  bound  with  a  twisted  band. 
Lapham  states  that  a  skeleton  was  found  in  one  of 
the  mounds  of  Wisconsin,  wrapped  apparently  in  a 
p 


Fig.  29. 


226  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 

cloth  of  an  open  texture,  like  the  coarsest  linen  fabric, 
but  the  threads  were  so  rotten  as  to  make  it  quite 
uncertain  of  what  material  it  was  made ;  and  in  the 
removal  of  the  great  mound  at  St.  Louis,  a  few  years 
ago,  patches  of  cloth  of  a  coarse  texture,  more  or  less 
carbonized,  were  found  in  connection  with  human 
skeletons. 

I  see  no  reason,  then,  why  cloth-manufacture  should 
not  be  included  among  the  arts  of  the  'Mound-builders. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  the  Indians  possessed  this  art 
when  first  known  to  the  White  man, —  an  art  which,  when 
once  acquired,  would  not  be  permitted  to  lapse;  nor  is 
the  supposition  plausible  that  this  cloth  was  a  European 
fabric,  obtained  by  the  Indians  and  substituted  in  the 
mounds  with  their  intrusive  burials,  for  the  reason  that 
the  material  employed  is  not  such  as  a  civilized  race 
would  manufacture  to  traffic  with  a  barbarous  one,  it 
being  more  costly  than  wool,  and  less  adapted,  by  rea¬ 
son  of  its  rigidity  and  lack  of  warmth,  to  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  clothing.  Besides,  the  supposition  of  intru¬ 
sive  burial,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  Butler  County 
mound  is  not  to  be  entertained,  for  Mr.  Woods’s  state¬ 
ment  is  exphcit,  that  the  cloth  was  beneath  two 
strata  of  clay,  one  burnt  red,  and  the  other  cream- 
colored,  neither  of  which  had  been  disturbed. 

These  facts  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  eth¬ 
nology  of  the  people  by  whom  the  mounds  were 
built.  They  go  far  to  dissever  the  present  race  of 
Indians  from  the  Mound-builders,  and  to  link  the  latter 
to  the  civilized  races  of  Central  America. 

When  Columbus,  in  1502,  met  a  party  of  the  Mayas 
from  Yucatan,  at  an  island  near  Kuatan,  off  the 
coast  of  Honduras,  he  found  that  they  had  come  in 
a  vessel  of  considerable  size  equipped  with  sails,  and 


PERUVIAN  FABRICS. 


227 


that  its  cargo  consisted  of  a  variety  of  textile  fabrics 
of  divers  colors,  wearing, apparel,  etc.  This  testimony 
is  emphatic,  that  the  people  of  Yucatan  used  woven 
cloth,  at  a  time  when  first  discovered  by  the  Euro¬ 
peans. 

The  art  of  spinning  and  weaving  was  also  practised 
by  the  Peruvians  when  their  country  was  first  invaded 
by  the  Spaniards;  and  samples  of  cloth,  and  the  dis¬ 
taffs  oil  which  the  thread  was  spun,  are  associated 
with  the  oldest  monuments.  In  corroboration  of  this, 
I  quote  the  verbal  statements  made  to  me  by  Mr.  E.  O. 
Carter,  a  gentleman  who  passed  several  years  in  that 
country,  and  pei'sonally  assisted  in  the  exploration  of 
many  of  the  antiquities.  Thus  at  Pachacamao,  thirty  or 
forty  miles  from  Lima,  where  stands  the  Temple  of 
the  Sun,  there  are  numerous  remains  of  walls  built  of 
adobes  or  sun-dried  bricks,  indicating  the  site  of  a 
onee  large  and  compact  town,  but  now  a  mass  of  ruins. 
In  the  liuacas  or  burial-places  are  found  numerous 
mummies  TiTa^sitting  posture,  wrapped  in  many  folds 
of  cloth,  with  an  exterior  covering  of  coarse  matting. 
The  cloth  is  composed  of  a  regular  warp  and  woof, 
the  thread  being  twisted  or  spun,  and  often  wrought 
into  variegated  patterns.  The  fabric  consists  of  the 
wool  of  the  llama  or  alpaca,  and  perhaps  in  some 
instances  of  cotton  which  there  grows  spontaneously. 
In  this  connection  it  is  not  unusual  to  find  spindles, 
with  the  yarn  upon  them,  which  are  sticks  nine  or  ten 
inches  long,  terminated  at  one  end  by  a  button  ;  also, 
various  utensils  indicative  of  the  occupation  of  the 
deceased ;  and  in  some  instances,  personal  ornaments, 
consisting  of  gold  and  silver,  such  as  chaplets  and 
bracelets.  Artieles  of  pottery,  filled  sometimes  with 
maize  and  sometimes  with  cotton  are  abundant. 


228  THE  MOUND  -  BHHiDEKS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


The  Indians  of  New  Mexico,  when  visited  by  Coro¬ 
nado,  in  1540,  were  found  wearing  mantles  of  raw 
cotton,  and  “  there  was  found  in  their  houses  certain 
yarn  made  of  raw  cotton.” 

It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  complicated 
machinery  is  required  to  produce  a  good  textile 
fabric.* 

It  is  not  known  precisely  in  what  manner  the  Mound- 
builders  carried  on  the  processes  of  spinning  and 
weaving,  but  the  following  implements,  of  which  those 
of  an  analogous  structure  are  quite  numerous,  were 
probably  employed.  (Vide  Fig.  30.) 

Squier  and  Davis  have  figured  no  less  than  seventeen 
of  these  implements,  some  of  which  are  square,  some 
oblong,  and  others  oval,  cruciform,  or  lozenge-shaped, 
and  most  of  which  are  elegantly  finished.  Whilst  they 
are  often  found  in  the  ploughed  fields,  which  would 
give  them  an  uncertain  origin,  they  are  also  found  in 
the  mounds  in  connection  with  skeletons. 

*  The  Hindoo,  according  to  Ure  (Dictionary  of  Arts,  etc., —  Article 
“Weaving’'),  at  this  day  readily  extemporizes  a  loom  by  employing  two 
bamboo  rollers,  one  for  the  warp  and  one  for  the  woven  cloth,  with  a 
pair  of  treadles  for  parting  the  warp,  to  permit  the  weft  to  be  drawn 
across  between  the  upper  and  under  threads.  The  shuttle  is  a  slender 
rod,  like  a  large  netting  needle,  rather  longer  than  the  web  is  broad,  and 
is  made  use  of  as  a  batten  or  lay,  to  strike  home  and  condense  each 
successive  thread  or  weft  against  the  closed  fabric.  He  carries  this 
simple  apparatus,  with  his  water-pitcher,  rice-pot,  and  hooks,  to  the 
foot  of  any  tree  which  may  afford  him  a  comfortable  shade.  He  then 
digs  a  large  hole  to  receive  his  legs,  along  with  the  treadles  or  lower  part 
of  the  harness ;  he  next  extends  his  warp  by  fastening  his  two  bamboo 
rollers  at  a  proper  distance  from  each  other,  with  pins  into  the  sward  ;  he 
attaches  the  treadles  to  a  convenient  branch  of  the  tree  overhead,  inserts 
his  great  toes  into  two  loops  under  the  gear,  to  serve  him  for  treadles  ; 
lastly,  he  sheds  the  warp,  draws  through  the  weft,  and  beats  it  close  up 
to  the  web  with  his  rod-shuttle  or  batten,  and  thus  makes  a  cloth  which 
formerly  found  its  way  to  the  European  markets. 


GAUGES. 


229 


Fig.  30  =  i. 


a  b 


Gauges  to  regulate  the  size  of  the  thread. 

a  is  symmetrically  wrought,  flat  on  one  side,  and  rounded  on  the  other. 
It  is  rimmed  out  on  both  sides,  but  the  diameter  of  the  hole  is  only 
sufficient  to  pass  ordinary  pack-thread.  This  specimen  was  found  in 
a  ploughed  field,  in  Marion  County,  Indiana,  and  is  in  the  Collection 
of  Professor  Cox,  of  Indianapolis. 

b  represents  a  similar  implement,  found  near  Franklin,  Catfaraugus 
County,  New  York,  which  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Benjamin 
McCleur,  of  Dubuque,  Iowa.  The  second  figure  is  very  similar  to 
one  given  by  Schoolcraft,*  and  Squier  and  Davis  have  figured  several 
relics  of  this  description,  which  they  regard  as  gorgets. f 

*  “  Researches,”  etc.,  vol.  i,  p.  8o. 

j-  “  Ancient  Monuments,”  p.  237.  In  Professor  Cox’s  Collection,  is  a 
specimen,  found  near  Indianapolis,  of  a  beautifully  banded  slate,  which 
is  similar  in  outline  to  No.  4  of  their  illustrations.  The  material  in  both 
the  illustrations  which  I  have  given,  is  of  the  same  character.  This 
silicious  slate  seems  to  have  been  highly-prjzed  by  the  Mound-builders. 
Its  uniform  grain,  its  ribbon-like  structure,  and  the  ease  with  which  it 
could  be  chipped  and  ground  into  symmetrical  forms,  proved  a  most 
attractive  material,  and  we  find  this  class  of  utensils  distributed  over 
nearly  the  whole  area  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  even  the  Atlantic 
Coast. 


230 


THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


Weightsl  —  Another  class  of  implements  which  may 
have  been  used  in  the  process  of  weaving,  is  represented 
in  the  following 


Fig.  31  =  1. 


Weights  (?)  to  keep  the  thread  taut. 


Specimen  a  is  from  Quincy,  Illinois,  and  is  in  the  cabinet  of  Professor 
Worthen.  It  was  found  in  connection  with  several  others,  in  digging 
a  post-hole. 

Specimen  l>  was  found  near  Newport,  Indiana,  and  is  in  the  cabinet  of 
Mr.  John  Collet,  who  states  that  in  the  vicinity  where  found,  there  are 
numerous  mounds. 

Specimen  c  is  as  interesting  perhaps  as  any  in  this  group,  as  it  had  been 
chipped  out  preparatory  to  grinding  and  polishing.  It  is  in  the  State 
Collection  of  Illinois.  The  material  of  all  these  specimens  is  specular 
iron  ore,  from  the  Iron  Mountain  of  Missouri. 


To  what  use  were  these  implements,  upon  which  the 
Mound-builder  expended  so  much  labor  and  skill, 
applied  ?  The  popular  idea  is  that  they  were  plumb- 
bobs  or  sinkers  to  fishing-nets.  With  regard  to  the 
first  supposition,  it  may  be  said  that  they  would  have 
made  the  attachment  at  the  obtuse  end  so  as  to  enable 
the  observer  to  fix  his  point  with  greater  accuracy, —  a 
consideration  which  would  not  have  been  overlooked 
by  the  Mound-builder,  had  he  employed  this  instru- 


BOLAS. 


231 


inent  for  determining  terrestrial  gravity,  and  the 
attacliment  of  a  string  to  the  crease  would  tend  to 
throw  the  plumb-bob  out  of  perpendicular.  With 
regard  to  the  second  supposition,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  crease  is  fitted  to  receive  only  a  very  small  stringf 
and  that  the  Mound-builders  would  hardly  use  so  costly 
an  implement,  when  an  ordinary  pebble  would  answer 
just  as  well.  The  danger  of  entanglement  and  the 
consequent  loss  would  be  too  great  to  be  incurred.  As 
personal  ornaments  they  would  be  too  cumbersome. 
I  am  inclined,  on  the  whole,  to  believe  that  they  were 
used  to  keep  the  thread  taut  in  weaving,  or  to  pass  it 
through  the  warp.  The  creases  are  too  small  to  admit 
of  the  attachment  of  a  thread,  except  of  delicate  pro¬ 
portions. 

Another  use  to  which  these  implements  may  have 
been  applied  is  that  of  the  bolas,  a  weapon  almost 
peculiar  to  the  Patagonians,  which  according  to  Falk*, 
ner,  is  of  three  sorts.  “  That  used  in  war  is  a  single 
rounded  stone  or  ball  of  hardened  clay,  weighing  about 
a  pound,  and  fastened  to  a  short  rope  or  sinew  of  skin. 
This  they  sometimes  throw  at  their  adversary,  rope  and 
all,  but  generally  they  prefer  to  strike  at  his  head  with 
it.  For  hunting,  the}’  use  two  similar  stones  fastened 
together  by  a  rope  which  is  generally  three  or  four  yards 
long.  One  of  the  stones  they  take  in  their  hand,  and 
then  whirling  the  other  round  their  head,  throw  both  at 
the  object  they  wish  to  entangle.  Sometimes  several 
balls  are  used,  but  two  appear  to  be  the  usual  number. 
They  do  not  try  to  strike  their  victim  with  the  balls 
themselves,  but  with  the  rope,  and  then  of  course  the 
balls  swing  round  in  different  directions,  and  the  thongs 
become  so  ‘laid  up’  or  twisted,  that  struggling  only 
makes  the  captive  more  secure.  It  is  said  that  a  man 


232  THE  MOUND -BUH^DERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 

on  horseback  can  use  the  bolas  effectually  at  a  distance 
of  eighty  yards.”  * 

Carver,  in  Iris  Travels,  1776,  says:  “The  Indians 
that  inhabit  still  further  to  the  westward,  a  country 
which  extends  to  the  South  Sea,  use  in  fight  a  warlike 
instrument  which  is  very  uncommon.  Having  a  great 
plenty  of  horses,  they  always  attack  their  enemies  on 
horseback,  and  encumber  themselves  with  no  other 
weapon  than  a  stone  of  middling  size,  curiously  wrought, 
which  they  fasten  to  a  string,  about  a  yard  and  a  half 
long,  to  their  right  arms,  a  little  above  the  elbow. 
These  stones  they  conveniently  carry  in  their  hands,  till 
they  reach  their  enemies,  and  then  swinging  them  with 
great  dexterity,  as  they  ride  full  speed,  never  fail  of 
doing  execution.”  f 

In  another  work  J  I  have  described  and  figured  eight 
of  these  relics,  collected  all  the  way  from  Northern  Ohio 
to  the  Mississippi  River.  The  Ohio  specimen  is  of  a  grey 
sub-crystalline  limestone  and  tapers  equally  towards 
both  extremities.  Five  of  them  have  the  same  general 
shape  as  figure  a,  and  with  one  exception,  all  are  creased 
at  the  sharp  end.  They  are  symmetrically  wrought  and 
beautifully  polished,  and  in  some  of  them  at  the  small 
end  is  to  be  seen  a  slight  hole,  as  though  the  block, 
after  having  been  chipped  to  the  general  shape,  had 
been  secured  in  a  lathe,  and  received  its  ultimate 
fashioning  and  polishing  while  subjected  to  a  revolving 
motion.  In  Mr.  Perkins’s  Collection  is  one  of  dark  por¬ 
phyry —  a  black  base  with  large  crystals  of  feldspar 
interspersed.  The  contrast  of  colors  makes  it  a  very 
beautiful  object. 

*  Cited  by  Lubbock,  “  Pre-historic  Times,”  p.  334. 

f  Carver’s  “  Travels  in  North  America,”  p.  188. 

t  "  Transactions  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences,”  vol.  i,  part  ii,  p.  258. 


SHUTTLES. 


233 


It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how,  in  the  absence  of  steel 
tools,  so  obdurate  a  material  could  be  so  symmetrically 
wrought.  There  are  two  of  these  specimens  of  specu¬ 
lar  iron  in  the  State  Collection  of  Illinois,  the  localities 
of  which  are  unknown  ;  three  in  the  possession  of  Pro¬ 
fessor  Worthen,  the  State  Geologist ;  one  in  the  pos¬ 
session  of  Mr.  John  Collett  of  Eugene,  Indiana  ;  one  in 
the  Collection  of  Professor  Cox ;  one  in  the  Iowa 
Institute  at  Dubuque ;  and  one  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  source  from  which 
the  material  was  derived.  It  is  well-known  that  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Superior  and  in  Southeastern  Missouri, 
occur  mountain  masses  of  specular  iron.  It  is  highly 
compact  in  structure,  of  a  steel-gray  color,  and  takes  a 
good  polish,  with  a  metallic  lustre.  At  both  localities, 
this  ore  often  contains  imbedded 
crystals  of  feldspar,  decomposing  into 
kaolin.  This  peculiarity  is  seen  in 
many  specimens,  and  as  the  greater 
number  were  found  within  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  miles  of  the  Iron 
Mountain  of  Missouri,  the  proba¬ 
bility  is  that  they  were  derived  from 
that  source,  rather  than  from  Lake 
Superior. 

Sometimes  these  implements  are 
worked  out  of  a  brown  hsematite,  and 
are  highly  polished. 

Another  implement  which  may  have 
been  used  for  a  shuttle,  is  represented 
in  the  margin,  and  was  found  in  a 
ploughed  field,  near  Stanford,  Mon¬ 
roe  County,  Indiana,  and  is  in  the 


Fig.  32= 


Weaver’s  shuttle 


234  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


Button  for  the  head 
of  a  spindle  ? 


Fig.  33  —  ^.  possession  of  Mr.  Fellows,  of  Bloom¬ 
ington.  It  is  very  symmetrically 
wrought,  and  the  hole  shows  by  its 
creases  that  the  rimming  instrument 
had  an  irregular  bit,  such  as  would 
be  presented  by  a  chert  edge.  The 
next  figure,  I  am  disposed  to  think, 
is  a  button  which  formed  the  head  of  a  spindle.  It  is  of 
heematitic  iron  ore,  and  is  in  the  cabinet  of  the  Iowa 
Institute,  Dubuque. 

This  figure  represents  a  hemi¬ 
spherical  implement  of  brown 
haematite  highly  polished.  It  is 
not  a  perfect  half-globe,  there 
being  slight  irregularities.  It  is 
in  Mr.  Collett’s  Collection,  and 
was  found  in  the  Wabash  Val¬ 


FiG.  34=j 


From  the  Wabash  Valley. 


Fig.  35. 


ley,  near  Eugene.  I  have  no  suggestions  to  offer  as  to 
its  applications. 

Shell-worli. —  The  Mound- 
builders  made  use,  princi¬ 
pally,  of  two  kinds  of  marine 
shells :  the  Busycon  and  the 
Marginella,  but  the  Olivia  and 
Fasciolaria  are  occasionally 
met  with,  all  of  which  are 
inhabitants  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Of  the  Busycon, 
two  species  were  employed  : 
the  B.  perversum  and  the  B. 
earica,  but  the  former  was 
the  more  highly  prized,  as  it 
yielded  plates  of  considerable 
size  and  thickness.  These 

Busycon  pervo stun  (greatly  reduced). 


SHELL-WORK. 


23.*) 


plates  were  worked  into  rounded  forms,  pierced  in  the 
centre .  strung,  and  worn  as  beads  —  the  ivory  beads  so 
often  described  as  occurring  in  the  mounds.  Such 
specimens  were  found  in  the  great  Grave  Creek  Mound, 
in  West  Virginia  ;  in  the  ancient  ossuary  near  Beverly, 
in  the  Dominion  of  Canada ;  and  in  the  great  mound 
at  St.  Louis.  According  to  Mr.  .James  M.  Loring, 
who  witnessed  the  progress  of  excavation  in  the  last- 
named  structure,  at  the  depth  of  twenty -five  feet  lay 
the  form  of  a  recumbent  warrior,  around  whose  head 
and  neck  had  evidently  been  strung  a  great  num¬ 
ber  of  beads,  consisting  of  discs  cut  from 
a  thick-plated  shell,  and  small  sea-shells 
entire.  Through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Win. 

H.  Boyd,  I  was  furnished  with  samples  of 
these  shells.  The  discs  were  cut  from 
plates  of  the  Busycon  perversum^  whilst 
the  small  sea-shells  proved  to  be  the  Mar-  ge^d  from  thef 
ginella  apicina,  which  were  pierced  near 
the  shoulder  for  the  reception  of  a  string. 

These  species  were  also  found  at  Grave 
Creek  and  at  Beverly,  points  widely 
asunder,  which  indicate  the  close  com¬ 
mercial  relations  which  must  have  been 
maintained  during  the  Mound-building 
epoch. 

The  OKvia  porphyra  was  prepared  for 
stringing  by  grinding  down  its  short  spire. 

The  columella  of  the  Busycon,  often  six  inches  in 
length,  was  wrought  into  a  pin-shaped  instrument  with 
a  hemispherical  head,  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in  diameter, 
and  the  shaft  half  an  inch,  with  a  somewhat  blunted 
point.  The  most  expanded  portion  of  the  shell  was  cut 
into  plates,  on  which  were  engraved  various  devices. 


M. 

Louis  mound, 
cut  from  the 
Busycon. 

Fm.  37. 


Marginclla  api- 
cina. 


236  THE  MOUND -BU ELDERS  —  TBLEER  ARTS. 

One  large  shell  yielded  a  plate  six  by  eight  inches.  Dr. 
Jones,  in  the  “  American  Naturalist,”  was  the  first  to 
describe  these  engraved  plates,  found  by  him  in  the 
mounds  of  Tennessee.  Professor  Wyman  describes 
similar  plates,  taken  by  Mr.  Dunning  from  the  Lick 
Creek  Mound,  in  the  same  State. 

“  They  are  mostly  perforated  with  two  holes,  appar¬ 
ently  for  strings,  but  in  some,  they  are  surrounded 
by  circles,  representing  eyes ;  between  these  there  is  a 
raised  ridge  in  place  of  a  nose,  and  below  this  a  third 
hole  which,  in  some  of  the  pieces,  is  surrounded  by  a 
raised  portion,  which  takes  the  place  of  a  mouth.  .  . 

These  objects  were  apparently  worn  as  gorgets.”  * 

Pottery.  —  In  the  plastic  arts,  the  Mound-builders 
attained  a  perfection  far  in  advance  of  any  samples 
which  have  been  found  characteristic  of  the  Stone,  and 
even  the  Bronze  Age  of  Europe.  We  can  readily  con¬ 
ceive  that,  in  the  absence  of  metallic  vessels,  pottery 
would  be  employed  as  a  substitute,  and  the  potter’s  art 
would  be  held  in  the  highest  esteem.  From  making 
useful  forms,  it  would  be  but  natural  to  advance  to  the 
ornamental.  Sir  John  Lubbock  remarks  that  “few  of 
the  British  sepulchral  urns,  belonging  to  the  ante-Roman 
times,  have  upon  them  any  curved  lines.  Representations 
of  animals  and  plants  are  also  almost  entirely  wanting. 
They  are  even  absent  from  all  articles  belonging  to  the 
Bronze  Age  in  Switzerland,  and  I  might  almost  say  in 
Western  Europe  generally,  while  ornaments  of  curved 
and  spiral  lines  are  eminently  characteristic  of  this 
period.  The  ornamental  ideas  of  the  Stone  Age,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  confined,  so  far  as  we  know,  to  com¬ 
positions  of  straight  lines,  and  the  idea  of  a  curve 
scarcely  seems  to  have  occurred  to  them.  The  most 

*  “  Fifth  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum  of  Archaeology.” 


WATER -JUGS. 


237 


elegant  ornaments  on  their  vases,  are  impressions  made 
by  the  finger  nail,  or  by  a  cord  wound  round  the  soft 
clay.”  * 

The  commonest  forms  of  the  Mound-builders’  pottery 
represent  kettles,  cups,  water-jugs,  pipes,  vases,  sepul¬ 
chral  urns,  etc.  Not  content  with  plain  surfaces,  they 
frequently  ornamented  those  surfaces  with  curved  lines 
and  fret-work.  They  even  went  farther,  and  moulded 
images  of  birds,  quadrupeds,  and  of  the  human  form. 
The  clay,  except  for  their  ordinary  kettles,  where 
coarse  gravel  was  often  intermixed,  is  finely-tempered, 
so  that  it  did  not  warp  or  crack  in  baking, —  the  utensil 
when  completed  having  a  yellowish  or  greyish  tint. 
Most  of  their  pottery  is  unglazed,  but  I  have  seen  speci¬ 
mens  from  Louisiana,  which  had  this  peculiarity,  corre¬ 
sponding,  in  this  respect,  with  the  pottery  of  Yucatan. 

Fig.  38  = 


Water-coolers  from  Perry  County,  Missouri. 


Water-jugs.  — I  present  above  forms  of  these  utensils. 
These,  being  unglazed,  would  permit  water  to  permeate 
slowly  through  them  and  evaporate,  creating  a  tem¬ 
perature  far  below  that  of  the  surrounding  air, —  a  device 
adopted  at  this  day  in  tropical  countries  to  keep  water 

*  “  Pre-historic  Times,”  p.  257. 


238 


THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


cool.  The  first  forms  represented,  are  similar  in  shape 
to  the  decanters  which  used  to  be  furnished  the  guests 
of  a  hotel  before  the  days  of  water-works.  They  were 
taken  from  the  ancient  cemetery,  in  Perry  County, 
Missouri,  and  had  been  placed  at  the  head  of  a  corpse. 
(Height,  eight  inches.) 

There  are  barbaric  races  so  utterly  degraded  as  to  be 
incapable  of  availing  themselves  of  the  commonest 
materials  about  them  to  aid  in  the  processes  of  pre¬ 
paring  and  cooking  their  food.  The  Indians  of  the 
Lake  region,  as  shown  by  the  testimony  of  the  Jesuit 
missionary  Dablon,  hereinafter  quoted,  were  accustomed 
to  cook  their  food  by  making  a  pail  of  birch-bark,  folded 
up  so  as  to  retain  water,  and  casting  therein  heated 
stones  until  the  liquid  was  brought  to  the  boiling  point. 
To  make  use  of  hollow  vessels  rudely-moulded  of  clay, 
implies  a  considerable  advance  in  art,  and  a  still  greater 
advance  when  a  people  could  make  use  of  such  sym¬ 
metrical  forms  as  are  exhibited  in  the  above  figure.  A 
still  higher  advance  in  art  is  implied,  when  a  people, 
discarding  simply  useful  forms,  boldly  launch  out  into 
artistic  designs,  such  as  the  scroll,  the  indentation,  and 
above  all  the  portrayal  of  the  human  features,  not  as 
uncouth  caricatures,  but  as  veritable  delineations  of 
individuals  in  actual  life. 

Such  delineations  would  indicate  the  setting  apart 
of  a  special  body  of  artists  who,  not  content  to  model 
useful  forms,  aspired  to  represent  human  figures  having 
the  physiognomy  of  their  race. 

In  the  subjoined  figure  these  suggestions  are  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  carried  out.  (Fig.  39.) 


WATER -JUGS  FROM  NEAR  BELMONT,- MISSOURI. 


230 


L 


Fig.  39 


240 


THE  MOUND -BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


The  body  consists  of  a  compressed  globe,  with  a  neck 
surmounted  by  a  human  head.  The  orifice  is  in  the 
occipital  region,  and  is  about  an  inch  in  diameter. 
The  entire  vessel  is  about  eight  and  one-half  inches 
high. 

When  we  critically  examine  the  head,  we  are  con¬ 
vinced  that  the  unknown  artist  had  the  skill  to  impress 
upon  the  plastic  clay  the  features  of  his  race.  Those 
features  are  not  characteristic  of  the  Indian.  The  facial 
angle  is  one  indicating  intelligence  ;  the  lips  are  not 
prominent ;  the  eyes  have  not  the  obliquity  of  the  Red 
man ;  the  jaws  are  not  prognathous ;  and  the  contour 
of  the  face  is  such  as  distinguishes  the  enlightened 
races. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  moulding  of  pottery, 
among  barbaric  tribes,  is  left  to  the  women,  and  that 
therefore  we  are  to  look  only  for  crude  delineations 
which  do  not  display  the  highest  range  of  art  which 
may  have  prevailed  among  such  tribes ;  but  I  think, 
from  the  examples  submitted,  that  the  modelhng  of 
particular  utensils,  such  as  drinking  cups,  statuettes, 
funeral  vases,  etc,,  was  confided  to  skilled  artists,  who 
impressed  upon  the  plastic  clay  an  individuality  which 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  mere  general  forms. 
Society  had  so  far  advanced  among  the  Mound-builders 
as  to  give  origin  to  a  well-marked  division  between  the 
artizan  and  the  artist ;  or  rather  the  latter,  combining 
the  two  occupations,  sought  to  give  expression  to  his 
ideas  in  forms  of  decorative  art. 

On  the  next  page  is  given  a  rear  and  side  view  of  a 
human  figure  in  the  form  of  a  statuette  (Fig.  40). 
While  the  anatomy  of  the  spine  and  shoulder-blades  is 
well  enough  represented,  the  other  parts  are  grossly 
incongruous. 


STATUETTE  FROM  NEAR  BELMONT,  MISSOURI 


Fig.  40 


242 


THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


Fig.  40  represents  a  captive.  His  head  is  covered  with 
several  plaits  of  cloth  ;  his  eyes  are  closed  ;  his  features 
are  contorted  as  with  pain  3  and  his  arms  are  pinioned 
by  twisted  bands  athwart  the  back,  so  tightly  as  to 
bring  out  the  muscles  of  his  shoulders.  The  lower 
portion  of  the  body  is  crudely  moulded,  and  the  legs 
are  unnaturally  bent  beneath.  This  figure  may  have 
been  designed  to  commemorate  the  capture  of  some 
dangerous  enemy  or  some  notorious  malefactor ;  and  as 
the  Mound-builders  offered  up  human  sacrifices,  it  may 
rej)resent  a  victim  prepared  for  the  altar. 

There  is  an  opening  at  the  top  of  the  head,  and  the 
marks  of  the  gouge  with  which  the  artist  extracted 
some  of  the  superfluous  clay,  are  plainly  visible.  (Height, 
eight  inches.)  The  two  figures  last  described  were 
exhumed  by  the  late  Sylvester  Sexton,  of  Chicago,  from 
one  of  a  group  of  low  mounds  in  Mississippi  County,  Mo., 
about  seven  miles  from  the  battle-ground  of  Belmont. 
There  was  also  found  a  plain  water-jug,  similar  in  form 
and  capacity  to  Fig.  35.  Statuettes  have  also  been 
found  in  the  ancient  cemetery  in  Perry  County,  Mis¬ 
souri,  where  they  occupied  a  position  near  the  head  of 
the  corpse.  They  are  gross  and  incongruous,  infinitely 
beneath  the  figures  above  given,  in  artistic  skill. 

About  twenty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash 
River,  on  the  Indiana  shore,  is  a  high  bluff,  where 
there  is  situated  an  ancient  cemetery,  in  which  great 
quantities  of  human  relics  have  been  unearthed  by 
the  excavating  power  of  the  river.  Among  these 
may  be  enumerated  bones,  ash -heaps,  stone -axes, 
arrow-heads,  pipes,  and  vessels  of  pottery.  At  a  point 
still  further  south  was  recovered  a  water -jug  which, 
in  its  general  form  and  adaptation,  is  similar  to  those 
from  Missouri.  The  body  and  neck  are  similarly- 


WATER  -  JUGS. 


243 


shaped,  the  orifice  in  both  examples  is  in  the  back  of 
the  head,  but  the  head  itself,  instead  of  being  human, 
is  part  human  and  part  owl-like, —  an  incongruous  com¬ 
bination.  The  following  is  a  representation. 

Fig.  41  =  -^. 


Water-jug  found  near  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  by  David  Septer, 
and  presented  to  Prof.  Cox,  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Berry. 


It  is  difficult  to  determine  precisely  what  the  artist 
designed  to  represent,  but  tbe  nearest  approach,  among 
the  feathered  tribe,  would  be  the  horned  owl.  The 
eyes  are  large  and  circular,  the  beak  is  short  and 
divided,  the  head  is  crowned  by  two  projections 
which  might  be  taken  for  tufts  of  feathers,  and  yet  on 
the  cheeks  there  is  the  appendage  of  human  ears  which* 
are  pierced  for  the  reception  of  ornaments. 


24-i  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


Fig.  42=i. 


It  is  not  often  that  we  meet 
with  vessels  supported  by 
legs,  3"et  a  few  such  instances 
occur.  Below  I  give  a  re^Dre- 
sentation  of  one  belonging  to 
this  class,  Avhich  Avas  found  in 
a  ploughed  field  near  Bel¬ 
mont,  jMissouri,  by  William 
J.  Hough,  of  Paducah,  Ky., 
and  kindly  loaned  by  the 
present  OAvner,  Dan’l  Hough, 
of  Indianapolis,  for  this  illus¬ 
tration.  This  feature  is  com¬ 
mon  in  the  ancient  pottery  of 
IMexico  and  Central  America. 
For  the  purposes  of  comparison,  I  introduce  an  illus¬ 
tration  of  a  vessel  from  San  Jose,  near  Mexico,  one  of 
the  Scammon  Collection  of  Ancient  Pottery,  belonging 
to  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences.  It  is  very  sym¬ 
metrically  moulded,  and 


Water-jug  from  near  Belmont, 
Missouri. 


Fig.  43=i. 


Ancient  vessel  from  9an  Jos§,  near 
Mexico. 


is  ornamented  by  a  series 
of  chevrons  or  small  tri¬ 
angles.  This  chevron 
mode  of  ornamentation 
appears  to  have  been 
Avidely  preA’alent.  The 
most  beautiful  specimen 
of  pre-historic  pottery 
that  I  have  ever  seen, 
was  a  cup  recovered 
from  the  shell-banks  of 
Grand  Lake,  Louisiana, 
by  Dr.  Dungan,  of  Jean- 
eret’s,  and  deposited  in 


DRIKKING  CUPS. 


245 


the  Collection  of  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences,  but 
unfortunately  destroyed  in  the  great  conflagration  of  the 
8th  of  October,  1871.  It  was  hemispherical  in  shape, 
and  ornamented  about  the  rim  with  the  same  chevrons 
seen  in  the  above -described  specimen,  but  with  the 
further  addition,  that  below  the  line  of  demarkation 
there  was  a  scroll-like  border.  What  was  remarkable, 
however,  was  this ;  that  the  surface  was  uniformly 
glazed  —  the  only  instance  hitherto  observed  by  me, — 
and  the  general  tint  was  of  an  umber  color.  In  the 
accuracy  of  detail,  it  reminded  me  of  the  best  specimens 
of  .Japanese  pottery  of  the  present  day.  From  this 
similarity  in  the  markings  between  the  pottery  from 
Louisiana  and  INIexico,  an  argument  might  be  drawn, 
showing  affinities  between  the  two  peoi)le  ;  but  when 
we  come  to  enlarge  our  sphere  of  observation,  we  find 
that  other  people,  widely -separated,  adopted  the  same 
style  of  marking.  In  illustration  of  this  fact,  I  intro¬ 
duce  the  following  figure  of  pottery  belonging  to  the 
Bronze  Age  of  Switzerland, 
being  a  reproduction  of  Fig. 

25  ffl,  given  by  M.  Desor,  in  his 
paper  on  the  Palafittes  of  Lake 
Neuchatel.  The  chevrons  Avith 
which  it  is  decorated  are  almost 
identical  Avith  those  above  des¬ 
cribed. 

Drinking  These  relics  Svv£eiknT'^ 

often  display  much  taste  in  form 

and  ornamentation.  I  give  a  representation  of  one 
obtained  from  the  ancient  cemetery  in  Ferry  County, 
jMissouri,  before  referred  to. 


Fig.  44=J. 


246  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS — THEIR  ARTS. 

Fig.  45  =  i. 


Drinking  cup  from  Perry  County,  Missouri.  (Collection  of  the  Chicago 
Academy  of  Sciences.) 


There  is  a  flat  lip  attached  to  the  rim,'  and  the  handle 
is  surmounted  by  a  female  head.  In  the  occipital 
region  there  is  a  small  orifice,  leading  to  a  larger  cavity, 
which  was  found  to  be  filled  with  pellets  about  the  size 
of  piUs.  This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens 

of  antique  pottery  that  I 
Fig.  46.  have  ever  seen.  The  clay 

was  properly  tempered  ;  it 
is  moulded  as  evenly  as 
though  turned  on  a  pot¬ 
ter’s  lathe  ;  its  form  is 
graceful,  and  the  face  is  far 
from  being  a  caricature. 

Pipes. — Under  this  head 
I  give  but  a  single  exam¬ 
ple,  and  that  because  it 
affords  us  the  features  of 
the  female  countenance, 
Pipe  from  a  mound  near  Laporte  modelled  with  Some  artistic 

skill.  We  have,  in  this 


SEPULCHRAL  URNS. 


247 


figure,  the  narrow 
and  receding  fore¬ 
head  and  the  broad 
cheeks,  caused  by  the 
outward  curving  of 
the  zj'gomatic  arches, 
seen  in  the  Mound- 
builders’  skulls.  The 
posterior  parts  are 
carried  out  in  detail, 
making  this  the  only 
obscene  figure  I  have 


seen  in  the  Mound-  Sepulchral  urn  from  Laporte,  Indiana, 
builders’  art. 

Sepulchral  urns.  —  I  give  three  representations  of 
sepulchral  urns,  taken  from  the  mounds  at  Laporte,  by 
Dr.  Iligday.  The  first  (Fig.  47)  is  of  finely-tempered 
clay,  and  is  symmetrically  moulded. 


Fig.  48  =  L 


Sepulchral  urns  from  Laporte,  Indiana. 


The  other  two  are  of  a  coarse  texture,  and  are  by  no 
means  comparable,  in  the  artistic  skill  displayed,  to 


248  THE  MOUND  -  BUHjDEES  —  THEIR  ARTS. 


Fig.  49=4. 


the  pottery  from  Missouri.  The  ornamentation  was 
accomplished  hy  indenting  the  clay  when  in  a  plastic 
state,  using  a  sharp-pointed  instrument  for  the  curved 
lines  and  a  square-pointed  instrument  to  stamp  the 
indentations. 

Appended  is  a  representation  of  a  vessel  from  an 

ancient  grave  near  the  mouth 
of  Big  Sandy  River,  in  Green¬ 
up  County,  Kentucky,  in 
which  the  ornamentation  dif¬ 
fers  from  that  of  all  the 
specimens  heretofore  repre¬ 
sented.  The  body  is  corru¬ 
gated  by  a  series  of  irregular 
lines,  which  assume  a  nearly 

vertical  direction,  and  Avhat 
Vessel  from  Greenup  County,  Ky.  handles 

(Prof.  Cqx  s  Collection.)  .  , 

&p  t  u  9/ C  xl.  0  Cl  • 

Kettles. — On  the  Saline  River,  Gallatin  County,  Illi¬ 
nois,  according  to  the  ms.  notes  of  Professor  Cox,  there 
is  just  above  low-water  mark,  a  salt  spring  which  was 
resorted  to  in  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  country,  by 
those  of  European  descent,  for  the  purpose  of  procur¬ 
ing  salt  by  evaporating  the  brine.  Here  occur, 
however,  numerous  fragments  of  pottery,  shoAving 
that  a  pre-historic  people  had  resorted  to  the  same 
spring,  and  for  the  same  purpose.  From  the  slight 
curvature  of  the  fragments  it  is  evident  that  the  vessels 
were  of  large  capacity.  The  material  is  coarse,  and 
the  general  thickness  of  the  vessel  is  about  one-half  an 
inch,  but  at  the  rim  it  is  three-quarters  of  an  inch.  The 
exterior  is  marked  by  vertical  lines  of  depression  about 
half  an  inch  apart,  vath  bars  less  conspicuous  and  close 
together,  sometimes  at  right  angles,  and  at  others 


COLORED  POTTERY. 


249 


oblique.  When  I  first  saw  these  specimens,  I  was 
somewhat  surprised  that  the  maker’s  should  bestow  so 
much  ornamentation*  on  vessels  so  coarsely  made  and 
applied  to  such  ordinary  uses,  but  a  slight  examination 
showed  me  that  these  figures  had  been  impressed  and 
not  carved ;  or  in  other  words,  that  a  basket  of  rushes 
or  willows  had  first  been  constructed,  inside  of  which 
the  clay  was  moulded  and  allowed  to  dry  before 
burning.* 

It  is  rare  to  meet  with  specimens  which  are  decorated 
with  colors,  yet  such  relics  are  found  at  Merom,  Indi¬ 
ana,  in  this  respect  resembling  the  pottery  of  the  Indians 
west  of  the  Rio  Grande,  in  New  Mexico,  collected  by 
Professor  Cox.  In  both  instances  the  fragments  are 
marked  by  broad  stripes  of  black  around  the  rim,  and 

*  Since  this  chapter  was  written,  I  have  seen  a  paper  of  Mr.  Charles 
Ran,  of  New  York,  on  the  aboriginal  pottery  of  this  country,  in  which  he 
refers  to  this  locality  and  arrives  at  the  same  conclusions  as  myself  :  “  I 
had  occasion  to  examine  a  fragment  of  a  vessel,  sent  to  Dr.  Davis,  in 
1859,  by  Mr.  George  E.  Sellers,  who  obtained  it  at  the  'Salt  Springs’ 
near  the  Saline  River.  .  .  Several  acres,  Mr.  Sellers  states,  are  covered 
with  broken  vessels,  and  heaps  of  clay  and  shells,  which  indicate  that  they 
were  made  on  the  spot.  They  present  the  shape  of  semi-globular  bowls 
with  projecting  rims,  and  measure  from  thirty  inches  to  four  feet  across 
the  rim  ;  the  thickness  varies  from  half  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch.  The 
earthenware  has  evidently  been  moulded  in  baskets.  It  is  solid  and 
heavy,  and  must  have  been  tolerably  well  baked.  The  impressions  on 
the  outside  are  very  regular  and  are  really  ornamental,  proving  that  these 
aboriginal  potters  were  also  skillful  basket-makers.” 

Mr.  Rau  quotes  from  Hunter,  as  to  the  aboriginal  mode  of  making 
pottery.  “  Another  method  practised  is  to  coat  the  inner  surface  of 
baskets,  made  of  rushes  or  willows,  with  clay,  to  any  required  thickness, 
and  when  dried  to  burn  them,  as  above  described.” 

Breckenridge  (Views  of  Louisiana,  1814,;  states  ;  “  The  Saline  below  St. 
Genevieve,  Missouri,  cleared  out  some  time  ago,  and  deepened,  was  found 
to  contain  wagon-loads  of  earthenware,  some  fragments  bespeaking  ves¬ 
sels  as  large  as  a  barrel,  and  proving  that  the  Salines  had  been  worked 
before  they  were  known  to  the  whites.” 


250 


THE  MOUND- BUILDERS - THEIR  ARTS. 


the  body  is  ornamented  by  circular  spots ;  in  the  one 
instance  the  effect  is  produced  by  a  dark  background, 
while  in  the  other  the  effect  is  produced  by  the  reversed 
process. 

Subjoined  are  representations  of  the  two  specimens. 
Fig.  50. 


a  h 


a  Ancient  pottery  from  Merom,  Indiana. 
b  "  “  “  New  Mexico. 

(Professor  Cox’s  Collection.) 

Professor  Cox  was  informed  that  the  New  Mexican 
Indians  colored  their  pottery  black  by  using  the  gum  of 
the  mezquite,  which  has  much  the  appearance  and 
properties  of  gum  arabic,  and  then  baking  it.  Much  of 
the  ancient  pottery  from  the  Colorado  Chiquito  is 
colored,  the  prevailing  tints  being  white,  black,  and 
red.* 

The  pottery  found  at  Aztalan,  Wisconsin,  is  of  a 
coarse  texture,  but  the  ornamentation  is  similar  to  that 
from  other  regions. f 

*  Vide  “  Pacific  Railroad  Reports,"  vol.  iii.  Whipple’s  “  Report  on 
the  Indian  Tribes,”  p.  48. 

f  Compare  these  figures  with  those  given  by  Lubbock  of  ancient 
pottery  from  West  Kennet,  England.  (“  Pre-historic  Times,"  p.  162,  Fig. 
154.)  Also  with  that  from  New  Jersey,  figured  by  Abbot,  Fig.  86,  in  the 
“  American  Naturalist  ”  for  April,  1872. 


COPPER  -  SMELTING . 


251 


In  the  first  example,  the  ornamentation  was  effected 
probably  by  a  twisted  band  pressed  into  the  plastic 
clay  ;  and  in  the  other  example  by  a  square  implement 
such  as  was  employed  by  the  Mound-builders  of  La- 
porte. 

Fig.  51. 


a  and  b.  Ancient  pottery  from  Aztalan,  Wisconsin. 

Copper  implements.  —  Copper-manufacture  played  a 
very  important  part  in  the  domestic  industry  of  the 
Mound  -  builders.  They  wrought  this  material  into 
knives,  chisels,  axes,  awls,  spear  and  arrow-heads,  and 
daggers,  and  used  it  in  personal  ornaments.  It  has  been 
supposed  that,  unlike  the  pre-historic  peoples  of  Ireland, 
Denmark,  and  Switzerland,  they  were  ignorant  of  the 
art  of  reducing  and  casting  it  into  the  desired  forms,  and 
this  opinion  was  based  on  the  fact  that  many  specimens  of 
utensils  or  ornaments  displayed  blemishes  which  no  ham¬ 
mering  could  eradicate,  and  others  showed  macles  of  silver 
which  would  not  result  from  the  smelting  of  two  metals 
of  so  nearl}^  equal  fusibility.  These  specimens  may 
have  been  the  product  of  their  earlier  art,  but  I  think 
that  the  evidence  now  in  my  possession,  derived  from 
an  inspection  of  a  large  number  of  their  relics,  is  con¬ 
clusive,  that  in  the  later  stages  of  their  career  moulds 
were  employed.  Many  of  these  specimens,  as  I  shall 


252  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS - THEIR  ARTS. 


show  hereafter,  bear  marks  which  could  never  have 
resulted  from  hammering  or  any  degree  of  oxidation. 

They  had  no  tin,  and  therefore  could  not,  like  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Swiss  Lakes,  of  Nineveh,  of 
the  Nile  Valley,  of  Ireland,  and  Peru,  impart  to  it 
almost  the  hardness  of  steel.*  They  have  left  behind 
no  evidences  of  stone  structures,  built  of  uniform  blocks 
and  carved  into  ornamental  forms.  It  is  probable, 
therefore,  that  the  copper  implements  were  used  only 
for  warlike  and  domestic  purposes.  They  do  not  appear 
to  have  known  the  mystery  of  soldering,  although  they 
had  an  excellent  cementing  material  in  native  silver, 
for  the  ends  of  their  bracelets  are  brought  in  contact 
simj)ly  by  bending. 

The  subjoined  illustrations  represent  in  part  only, 
the  variety  of  forms  into  which  the  Mound-builders 
wrought  this  material.  While  these  forms  are  sym¬ 
metrical,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  attempt,  as  among 
the  makers  of  the  bronze  implements  of  Denmark  and 
Switzerland,  to  resort  to  ornament. 

*  Examination  has  shown  that  in  order  to  get  the  greatest  hardness 
and  cutting  power  in  bronze,  the  alloy  should  contain  about  nine  parts  of 
copper  to  one  of  tin  ;  and  about  this  proportion  is  shown  in  the  bronze 
instruments  of  Assyria,  Egypt,  and  Ireland. 

The  ancient  Pemvians  certainly  had  a  knowledge  of  bronze,  obtaining 
their  tin  from  Mexico  and  Chili.  Lieutenant  Gibbon  (Valley  of  the 
Amazon,  vol.  ii.)  figures  a  hatchet  from  the  grave  of  a  warrior  near  Cuzco, 
“  made  of  copper  hardened  with  tin,”  and  also  bronze  ear-ornaments  and 
an  armlet  “  so  thin  as  to  spring  open,  when  drawn  over  the  hand,”  and 
also  human  effigies  in  the  same  metal.  Humboldt  carried  with  him  to 
Europe  a  chisel  from  a  silver  mine  opened  by  the  Indians,  not  far  from 
Cuzco,  which  on  analysis  was  found  to  contain  94  parts  of  copper  with 
6  per  cent,  of  tin.  They  executed,  with  bronze  implements,  many  sig¬ 
nificant  works  in  porphyry  and  granite,  wrought  hard  veins  of  silver,  and 
are  supposed  to  have  engraved  the  emerald. 


CHISELS,  AXES,  AND  DAGGERS. 


Copper  Implements.  —  Fig.  f>2. 


254  THE  MOUND  -  BUH^DERS  —  THEIR  ARTS. 

I  give  above  representations  of  the  common  forms  of 
copper  implements  employed  by  the  Mound-builders. 


Tlie  copper  chisel  a  is  ten  inches  by  one  and  a  quarter  ,  slightly  concave 
on  one  side,  while  on  the  other  it  is  bevelled.  (Found  at  West  Bend, 
Washington  County,  Wisconsin.  Dr.  Lapham’s  Collection.) 

Copper  axe  b  is  semilunar  on  cross  section,  and  is  almost  identical  in  form 
with  one  from  Ireland,  figured  by  Lubbock.*  (From  a  mound  near 
Laporte.  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences’  Collection.) 

The  copper  axes  c  d  differ  somewhat  in  form,  but  agree  in  having  flaring 
edges,  as  in  the  modern  axe.  They  show  no  marks  of  use.  (Found  in 
a  ploughed  field  ten  miles  north  of  Milwaukee,  on  the  Green  Bay 
Road.  German  Natural  History  Society’s  Collection.) 

f  represents  a  dagger  or  pike  head,  which  is  nearly  a  foot  long  and  half 
an  inch  broad.  (It  was  found  in  excavating  Bloody  Mound,  near 
Neenah,  Wisconsin.) 


In  the  subjoined  figure  are  represented  several  spear¬ 
heads  and  arrow-heads,  and  the  mode  of  attachment  to 
the  shaft.  This  was  accomplished  by  bending  over  the 
edges  so  as  to  form  a  socket  at  the  base,  and  drilling  a 
hole  for  the  purpose  of  rivetting  the  head  to  the  shaft. 
In  one  instance,  c?,  there  is  a  haft  which  was  driven 
home  in  a  hole  made  for  its  reception. 


Specimen  a,  from  an  unknown  locality  is  in  the  Collection  of  the  German 
Natural  History  Society  of  Milwaukee. 

Specimens  b  c  are  from  Menasha,  Wisconsin,  and  are  in  the  Collection  of 
Dr.  Lapham. 

Specimens  d  e  are  in  the  Collection  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society  ; 
locality  unknown. 


*  “  Pre-historic  Times,”  p.  25. 


OF  WARFARE  AND  THE  CHASE 


255 


Copper  Tistplements.— Fig.  53. 


Copper  Implements. —  Fig.  54. 


Ik 


%> 


KNIVES,  AWLS,  AND  BRACELETS. 


COPPER  IMPLEMENTS, 


257 


The  copper  knives  show  the  same  method  of  attach¬ 
ment  as  that  resorted  to  in  the  spear-heads ;  and  those 
found  in  the  region  of  Lake  Superior,  among  the  debris 
of  ancient  mining,  do  not  differ  essentially  from  those 
found  111  Lower  Wisconsin  and  Illinois. 

a  represents  a  knife  in  the  Collection  of  the  German  Natural  History 
Society  of  Milwaukee  ;  locality  unknown. 
b  was  found  near  Sterling,  Illinois.*  The  entire  length  of  the  blade  is 
9.5  inche.s ;  greatest  breadth  1.5  inches.  (Deposited  in  the  Chicago 
Academy  of  Sciences  by  Rev.  Dr.  Burroughs.) 
c  is  reproduced  from  Lapham.f  and  is  from  the  Lake  Superior  region. 
Awls  have  been  found  at  points  widely  separated.  Specimen  d  is  from 
a  mound  at  Laporte,  Indiana  ;  e  was  found  in  the  interior  of  Wiscon¬ 
sin,  and  there  is  one  in  Professor  Cox’s  Collection,  which  was  found 
in  Spencer  County,  Indiana,  adjoining,  on  the  north,  the  Ohio  River. 
f  represents  a  bracelet,  which  is  not  an  uncommon  ornament.  The 
original  was  obtained  by  me  from  a  mound  in  Charlestown,  Ohio,  and 
is  one  of  two  sets,  which  were  found  enveloped  in  cloth. 

*  Mr.  James  Shaw,  Assistant  Geologist  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  writes 
me  thus  .  "  The  knife  (above  described)  was  in  my  possession  for  two  or 
three  months,  while  I  was  making  geological  examinations  in  that  part 
of  the  State.  I  saw  the  exact  place  where  it  was  found, —  in  a  sort  of 
river-drift,  composed  of  black  alluvium  and  gravel  mixed,  and  five  or  six 
feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground.  I  found  the  bone  of  a  mastodon, 
from  the  fore-leg  of  that  animal,  in  exactly  the  same  formation,  and  at 
about  the  same  depth,  a  few  miles  higher  up  Rock  River.  They  both 
seemed  to  be  of  the  same  age,  and  in  the  same  position.  The  bone  was 
much  decayed  and  was  porous  and  quite  light.” 

The  observations  of  Mr.  Shaw  would  assign  to  the  copper  knife  a  far 
higher  antiquity  than  I  am  disposed  to  accord  to  it.  From  the  similarity 
in  the  construction  of  the  socket  to  the  many  copper  implements  which 
I  have  described,  and  to  the  fact  that  thus  far  no  metallic  implements 
have  been  found  in  Europe,  associated  with  the  bones  of  extinct  mam¬ 
malia,  I  am  disposed  to  refer  this  implement  to  the  Mound-builder  Age. 

One  of  two  suppositions  is  true:  either  that  here  has  been  an  inter¬ 
mingling  of  the  relics  of  two  distinct  ages ;  or  that  if  the  synchronism  is 
established,  man  on  this  continent,  as  contemporary  with  the  mastodon, 
was  far  in  advance,  in  the  mechanical  arts,  of  man  as  the  contemporary 
of  the  fossil  elephant,  on  the  European  continent. 

f  “  Antiquities  of  Wisconsin,”  p.  77. 

R 


Copper  Implements, —  Fig.  55. 


SHOWING  TRACES  OF  MOULDS, 


COPPER  IMPLEMENTS. 


259 


a  represents  a  dagger,  ten  inches  long  and  one  inch  wide  where  broad¬ 
est.  The  flat  surface  is  corrugated,  and  on  each  side  there  is  a 
continuous  ridge  for  a  considerable  distance,  as  if  left  by  the  imperfect 
junction  of  the  two  parts  of  the  flask.  (Locality,  Waukesha,  Wis.) 

3  is  a  chisel,  seven  inches  long,  one  and  a  fourth  inches  broad  at  widest 
point,  and  a  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick.  Both  of  the 
broad  surfaces  are  roughly  ridged,  and  the  sides  show  the  marks  of  a 
mould.  (Locality,  Waterford,  Wis.) 

r  is  a  spear-head,  with  a  haft  for  insertion  into  a  handle.  Length,  nine 
inches  ;  breadth,  at  the  widest  part,  one  and  an  eighth  inch.  The  gen¬ 
eral  surface  is  quite  smooth,  showing  little  corrosion.  On  either  side 
there  is  a  sharp  ridge,  which  I  think  clearly  indicates  the  marks  left  by 
the  mould.  (Locality,  Trenton,  Wis.) 
d  is  an  awl  sixteen  inches  long,  and  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  its 
greatest  diameter.  It  is  traversed  longitudinally  by  three  thin  ridges, 
such  as  would  be  left  by  a  sand-mould  now  in  use.  Mr.  Perkins  had 
another  specimen,  similar  in  design,  three  feet  long,  and  nearly  an 
inch  in  its  greatest  diameter,  which  was  unfortunately  lost.  (Locality, 
Barton,  Wisconsin.) 

^  is  a  symmetrical  spear-head,  four  and  a  half  inches  long.  The  surface 
displays  a  set  of  delicate  longitudinal  lines,  with  the  marks  of  the 
mould  strongly  ridged  on  each  side.  (Locality,  Farmington,  Wis.) 
y  is  a  spear-head,  with  a  socket,  five  and  a  quarter  inches  in  length. 
The  thrusting  part  is  ground  down  smooth,  and  the  socket,  at  the  point 
of  attachment,  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  cast,  not  formed  by 
hammering.  There  are  seven  indentations,  which  Mr.  Perkins  con¬ 
jectures  were,  perhaps,  the  record  of  events  in  the  life  of  the  possessor. 

Mr.  Perkins,  to  whose  archteological  collections,  I 
have  had  occasion  so  often  to  refer,  has  not  less  than 
sixty  copper  implements,  representing  all  the  known 
forms,  such  as  knives,  chisels,  and  spear-heads,  besides 
several  anomalous  forms.  He  had  arrived  at  the  same 
conclusion  as  myself ;  that  by  reason  of  certain  mark¬ 
ings,  it  was  evident  that  the  Mound-builders  possessed 
the  art  of  smelting  copper,  and  he  has  furnished  me  with 
the  foregoing  illustrations,  in  which  the  traces  of  the 
mould  are  clearly  defined.  It  is  impossible  to  infer,  after 
a  careful  examination  of  these  specimens,  that  the  ridges 
could  have  been  left  in  the  process  of  hammering,  or 


260  THE  MOUND  -  BUrLDEES  —  THEIE  AETS. 


In  treating  of  the  various  implements  of  the  Mound- 
builders,  I  have  encroached,  in  a  slight  degree  only, 
upon  the  materials  at  my  command.  The  expense  of 
illustration,  and  the  necessity  of  bringing  this  work 
within  reasonable  limits,  compel  me  to  exercise,  reluct- 
antly  I  confess,  the  duty  of  abridgment.  The  more 
thorougiy  I  investigate  their  arts  and  manufactures,  the 
stronger  becomes  my  conviction  that  they  were  some¬ 
thing  more  than  a  mere  barbaric  people. 

Note. —  A  brief  enumeration  of  some  of  the  other  forms  of  copper 
in  Mr.  Perkins’s  Collection,  may  not  be  out  of  place  in  this  connection. 
There  is  a  copper  chisel,  eight  by  one  and  a  half,  by  one-third  inches, 
ribbed  on  one  side  and  ground  on  the  other,  and  resembling  in  its  general 
outlines  a,  Fig.  46.  It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  how  such  an 
implement  could  have  been  hammered  out.  The  farmer  who  recovered 
it,  affirmed  that  it  was  found  twelve  feet  below  the  surface. 

There  are  three  chisels  with  flaring  bits,  like  d.  Fig.  49,  one,  eight  and 
a  half,  by  one  half  inches,  three  and  a  half  inches  broad  at  the  cutting 
edge,  and  one  at  the  head  ;  the  second,  six  by  three  inches,  three  and 
three-fourths  inches  broad  at  the  cutting  edge,  and  one  and  one-quarter 
at  the  head  ;  the  third  is  of  about  the  same  dimensions,  except  that  it  is 
an  inch  longer  ;  another  is  oblong,  four,  by  two  and  three-fourths  inches  ; 
and  another  of  the  same  form,  five,  by  two  and  a  half  inches,  which  is 
flat  on  one  surface  and  ridged  on  the  other. 

There  is  a  pike-head,  symmetrically  shaped,  wrought  to  a  sharp  point, 
and  with  a  gradual  taper  towards  the  head,  which  is  also  sharp  but  bent 
over,  as  if  designed  as  a  clamp.  The  length  of  the  implement  is  nearly 
eight  inches,  and  the  form  or  cross-section  is  square,  the  greatest  diameter 
being  one-half  inch.  There  is  another  instrument  of  a  somewhat  similar 
character,  nearly  six  inches  long,  oblong  on  cross-section,  one-half  by 
one-fourth  inch,  one  side  of  which  is  grooved  for  two-thirds  the  distance, 
one  end  brought  to  a  point,  and  the  other  bent  over  like  a  fish-hook. 

There  is  a  copper  awl,  of  the  general  form  of  d,  Fig.  51,  but  only  four 
and  three-fourths  inches  in  length. 

There  aye  five  copper  knives,  one  very  rude,  of  the  same  general  form 
as  a,  Fig.  51,  with  hafts  for  the  attachment  of  a  handle,  and  one  with  a 
socket,  as  in  6,  c,  Fig.  51.  The  blade  which  is  leaf-shaped,  is  only  two 
and  a  half  inches  long. 

The  spear-heads  present  a  variety  of  forms.  There  are  two  of  the 
same  general  shape  as  e.  Fig.  50,  with  sockets  and  holes  for  inserting  and 
attaching  the  handle. 


CHAPTER  VTI. 

ANCIENT  MINING  BY  THE  MOUND-BUILDERS. 

The  southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior  for  nearly  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  is  bounded  by  alternate 
beds  of  trap  and  conglomerate  of  the  Lower  Silurian 
Age.  Associated  with  these  beds  are  veins  of  native 
copper,  sometimes  cutting  this  assemblage  of  rocks 
vertically,  and  sometimes  running  with  the  formation. 
Native  silver,  chemically  pure,  is  often  found  embedded 
in  the  copper,  in  the  form  of  blotches  or  macles,  whilst 
the  copper  which  serves  as  the  paste  or  matrix,  is  lean 
in  the  precious  metal.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add 
that  native  copper  is  not  mined  elsewhere  in  the  United 
States,  and  hence  its  presence  in  the  mounds,  at  remote 
points,  is  an  infallible  guide  in  tracing  the  commercial 
intercourse  of  the  Mound-builders. 

The  two  districts  of  Keweenaw  Point  and  the  Onton¬ 
agon,  are  well  known  at  this  day  as  the  great  mining 
centres,  giving  employment  to  a  vast  capital,  and  yield¬ 
ing  a  product  in  copper  about  equal  to  the  national 
consumption. 

Isle  Royal,  near  the  northern  shore  of  the  lake,  in  its 
geological  structure  is  the  counterpart  of  Keweenaw 
Point. 

Copper  boulders  are  frequently  found  on  the  lake- 
shore,  and  in  the  Drift  as  far  south  as  Central  Indiana 

261 


262 


ANCIENT  MINING. 


and  Illinois  ;  but  while  conjecture,  half  a  century  ago, 
was  rife  that  they  were  derived  from  the  rocks  forming 
the  water-shed  between  Lake  Superior  and  Lake  Michi¬ 
gan,  the  real  character  of  the  copper-bearing  rocks  and 
the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  native  metal,  were  not 
known  until  the  year  1841,  when  Dr.  Douglass  Houghton 
presented  a  geological  report  upon  the  region  to  the 
legislature  of  Michigan. 

The  Jesuit  missionaries  penetrated  this  region  as  early 
as  1660,  and  whilst  in  their  “  Relations  ”  they  made 
frequent  mention  of  the  occurrence  of  loose  masses  of 
copper  on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  and  questioned  their 
Indian  voyageurs  as  to  their  origin,  yet  they  were  enabled 
to  glean  but  scanty  information  as  to  their  true  source. 

“  It  frequently  happens,”  says  Father  Alloiiez,  “  that 
pieces  of  copper  are  found  weighing  from  ten  to  twenty 
pounds.  I  have  seen  several  such  pieces  in  the  hands 
of  the  savages,  and  since  they  are  very  superstitious, 
they  esteem  them  as  divinities,  or  as  presents  given 
them  to  promote  their  happiness  by  the  gods  that  dwell 
beneath  the  water.  For  this  reason  they  preserve  these 
pieces  of  copper  wrapped  up  with  the  most  precious 
articles.  In  some  families  they  have  been  kept  more 
than  fifty  years ;  in  others  they  have  been  kept  time 
out  of  mind,  being  cherished  as  domestic  gods.” 

Dablon,  who  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  Alloiiez, 
states  that  the  savages  did  not  agree  as  to  the  source  of 
the  copper.  Some  said  that  it  was  where  the  river 
(Ontonagon)  began  ;  others  that  it  was  close  to  the  lake 
in  the  clay  ;  and  others  at  the  forks  and  along  the  east 
branch  of  the  river.  He  dwells,  too,  on  the  superstitious 
reverence  with  which  the  Indians  regarded  these  copper 
masses,  and  in  the  “Relation”  for  1669-70,  gives  the 
following  legend: 


INDIAN  MYTHS. 


263 


“We  have  learned  from  the  savages  some  secrets 
which  they  did  not  want  at  first  to  communicate,  so  that 
we  were  obliged  to  use  some  artifice.  We  do  not,  how¬ 
ever,  vouch  for  everything  contained  in  the  following 
account. 

“  After  entering  the  lake,  the  first  place  met  with 
containing  copper,  is  an  island  about  forty  or  fifty 
leagues  from  the  Saut,  towards  the  north  shore,  oppo¬ 
site  a  place  called  Missipicooatong  (Michipicoten). 
The  savages  relate  that  it  is  a  floating  island,  being 
sometimes  near,  and  at  others  afar  off.  A  long  time 
ago,  four  savages  landed  there,  having  lost  their  way  in  a 
fog  with  which  the  island  is  frequently  invested.  It  was 
previous  to  their  acquaintance  with  the  French,  andth^y 
knew  nothing  of  the  use  of  kettles  and  hatchets.  In 
cooking  their  food,  as  is  usual  among  savages,  by  heat¬ 
ing  stones  and  casting  them  into  a  birch-bark  pail  con¬ 
taining  water,  they  found  that  most  all  of  them  were 
copper.  After  having  completed  their  feast,  they 
hastened  to  re-embark,  for  they  were  afraid  of  the 
lynxes  and  hares  which  here  grow  to  the  size  of  dogs. 
They  took  with  them  copper  stones  and  plates,  but  had 
hardly  left,  before  they  heard  a  loud  voice  exclaiming 
in  an  angry  tone,  ‘  Who  are  the  thieves  that  carry  off 
the  cradle  and  the  toys  of  my  children  ?  ’  They  were 
very  much  surprised  at  the  sound,  not  knowing  whence 
it  came.  One  said  it  was  thunder ;  another  said  it  was 
a  certain  goblin  called  3Iissil)izi,  the  spirit  of  the  waters, 
like  Neptune  among  the  heathen  ;  another,  that  it  came 
from  the  Memogovissioois,  who  are  marine  men,  living 
constantly  under  water  like  the  tritons  and  sirens, 
liaving  long  hair  reaching  to  the  waist ;  and  one  of  the 
savages  asserted  that  he  had  certainly  seen  such  a  being. 
At  any  rate,  this  extraordinary  voice  produced  such  fear 


264 


ANCIENT  MINING. 


that  one  of  them  died  before  landing.  Shortly  after  two 
others  died,  and  one  alone  reached  home,  who,  after 
relating  what  had  happened,  also  died.  Since  that 
time  the  savages  have  not  dared  to  visit  the  island,  or 
even  to  steer  in  that  direction.” 

The  good  father  explains  this  legend  by  supposing 
that  they  were  poisoned  by  using  the  copper  stones  in 
cooking  their  food ;  that  the  supernatural  voice  was 
but  an  echo  of  their  own  ;  and  that  the  vanishing  and 
reappearing  of  the  island  were  due  to  the  fogs  and  haze 
which  hang  about  it. 

These  citations  show  that  the  Indians,  when  first 
visited  by  the  white  man,  had  no  traditions  as  to  their 
ancestors  having  mined  copper ;  that  they  had  but  vague 
ideas  as  to  the  source  from  which  it  was  derived ;  that 
they  regarded  it  as  “  big  medicine,”  to  be  preserved  as 
the  most  precious  of  their  treasures ;  and  that  they  made 
no  use  of  it  in  the  practical  arts. 

That  the  whole  extent  of  the  copper-bearing  region, 
embracing  both  shores  of  the  lake,  was  resorted  to  in 
remote  times  for  mining  purposes,  by  a  race  of  whom 
the  Indians  preserve  no  tradition,  there  is  the  most 
abundant  evidence.  This  evidence  consists  in  numerous 
excavations  in  the  solid  rock,  from  which  the  vein-stone 
has  been  extracted  ;  of  heaps  of  rubble  and  dirt  along 
the  courses  of  the  veins ;  of  copper  utensils  fashioned 
into  knives,  chisels,  and  spear  and  arrow-heads ;  of 
stone  hammers,  creased  for  the  attachment  of  withes  ; 
of  wooden  bowls  for  bailing  water  from  the  mines ;  of 
wooden  shovels  for  throwing  out  the  debris  ;  of  props 
and  levers  for  raising  and  supporting  the  mass  copper  ; 
and  of  ladders  for  ascending  and  descending  the  pits. 

The  high  antiquity  of  this  mining  is  inferred  from 
these  facts  :  That  the  trenches  and  pits  were  filled  even 


STONE  HAMMERS. 


265 


•with  the  surrounding  surface,  so  that  their  existence 
was  not  suspected  until  many  years  after  the  region  had 
been  thrown  open  to  active  exploration  ;  that  iipon  the 
piles  of  rubbish  were  found  growing  trees  which 
differed  in  no  degree,  as  to  size  and  character,  from 
those  in  the  adjacent  forest ;  and  that  the  nature  of  the 
materials  with  which  the  pits  were  filled,  such  as  a  fine- 
washed  clay  enveloping  half-decayed  leaves,  and  the 
bones  of  sueh  quadrupeds  as  the  bear,  deer,  and  caribou, 
indicated  the  slow  accumulation  of  years,  rather  than  a 
deposit  resulting  from  a  torrent  of  water. 

The  most  extensive  excavations  occur  in  the  Onton¬ 
agon  region,  and  to  Mr.  Samuel  O.  Knapp,  the  former 
superintendent  of  the  Minnesota  Mining  Company,  the 
public  are  indebted  for  the  first  knowledge  of  their 
nature  and  extent.  It  was  in  the  winter  of  1847-8, 
while  passing  over  a  portion  of  the  company’s  grounds, 
that  he  observed  a  eontinuous  depression  in  the  soil, 
which  he  rightfully  eonjectured  was  formed  by  the 
disintegration  of  a  vein.  There  was  a  bed  of  snow  on 
the  surface  three  feet  deep,  but  it  had  been  so  little  dis¬ 
turbed  by  the  wind  that  it  conformed  to  the  inequalities 
of  the  soil.  Following  up  these  indieations,  as  dis¬ 
played  along  the  southern  escarpment  of  a  hill,  he  came 
to  a  cavern  into  which  he  erept,  dispossessing  several 
porcupines  which  had  resorted  there  to  hibernate.  lie 
saw  numerous  evidences  to  convince  him  that  this 
was  an  artificial  excavation,  and  at  a  subsequent  day, 
with  the  assistance  of  two  or  three  men,  proceeded  to 
explore  it.  In  clearing  out  the  rubbish,  they  found 
numerous  stone  hammers,  showing  plainly  that  they 
were  the  mining  implements  of  a  rude  race.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  excavation  was  seen  a  vein  with  ragged 
projeetions  of  copper,  which  the  ancient  miners  had  not 
detached. 


266 


ANCIENT  MINING. 


The  following  spring  he  explored  some  of  the  exca¬ 
vations  farther  west.  One  artificial  depression  was 
twenty-six  feet  deep,  filled  with  clay  and  a  matted  mass 
of  mouldering  vegetable  matter.  When  he  had  pene¬ 
trated  to  the  depth  of  eighteen  feet,  he  came  to  a  mass 
of  native  copper,  ten  feet  long,  three  feet  wide  and 
nearly  two  feet  thick,  and  weighing  over  six  tons.  On 
digging  around  the  mass,  it  was  found  to  rest  on  billets 
of  oak,  supported  by  sleepers  of  the  same  material. 
This  wood,  from  its  long  exposure  to  moisture,  was 
dark-colored  and  had  lost  all  its  consistency.  It 
opposed  no  more  resistance  to  a  knife-blade  than  so 
much  peat.  The  earth  was  so  firmly  packed  as  to  sup¬ 
port  the  mass  of  copper.  The  ancient  miners  had  evi¬ 
dently  raised  it  about  five  feet  and  then  abandoned  the 
work  as  too  laborious,  having  first  knocked  off  all  the 
projecting  points. 

The  vein  was  wrought  in  the  form  of  an  open  trench, 
and  where  the  copper  was  most  abundant,  there  the 
excavations  were  deepest.  The  trench  was  filled  nearly 
flush  from  the  wash  of  the  surrounding  surface.  The 
rubbish  was  thrown  up  in  piles,  which  could  readily  be 
distinguished  from  the  general  contour  of  the  ground. 

A  few  rods  further  west  was  to  be  seen  another  exca¬ 
vation  in  a  cliff,  where  the  miners  had  left  a  portion  of 
the  vein-stone,  in  the  form  of  a  pillar,  to  prop  the  hang¬ 
ing  wall.* 

The  evidences  of  ancient  mining  were  to  be  seen  on 
this  location  for  the  distance  of  two  and  one-half  miles. 
Upon  a  mound  of  rubbish  we  saw  a  pine  stump,  the 
trunk  having  been  broken  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground, 
ten  feet  in  circumference,  which  must  have  sprouted, 

*  A  sketch  of  this  mode  of  mining  is  given  in  Foster  and  Whitney’s 
Report,  1850. 


WOODEN  BOWLS. 


267 


flourished,  and  died  since  the  earth  was  thrown  up. 
Mr.  Knapp  counted  three  hundred  and  ninety-five 
annular  rings  on  a  hemlock  growing  in  a  similar  posi- 
tion,  which  he  felled  near  one  of  his  shafts. 

The  number  of  ancient  hammers  which  he  took  from 
these  excavations  exceeded  ten  cart-loads,  and  with 
little  reverence  for  the  past,  he  employed  a  portion  of 
them  in  walling  up  a  spring.-  They  were  made  of 
greenstone  and  porphyry  boulders,  which  are  found 
very  abundantly  at  certain  localities 
on  the  lake-shore.  Selecting  a  stone 
of  the  desired  size  and  form,  the 
ancient  miner  cut  a  groove,  single  or 
double,  around  it,  so  that  it  might  be 
secui’ed  with  a  withe,  and  thus 
wielded  as  a  sledge-hammer.  The 
accompanying  figure  a  represents  one 
of  the  larger  class,  whose  dimensions 
are  twelve,  by  five  and  a  half,  by  four 
inches,  and  the  weight  is  thirty-nine 
pounds.  The  smaller  class,  5,  was 
probably  wielded  with  one  hand. 

Mr.  William  IT.  Stevens  discov¬ 
ered  other  workings  in  the  vicinity  of 

the  Forest  Mine,  of  nearly  equal  Stone  hammers,  used 

^  by  the  ancient  mi- 

interest  and  extent.  They  occurred  ners  in  the  Lake 

on  the  southern  slope  of  a  hill,  and  Superior  region, 
consisted  of  a  series  of  pits,  some  of  which  were  four¬ 
teen  feet  deep.  They  were  arranged  in  four  lines, 
following  the  courses  of  four  veins  or  feeders.  In 
cleaning  out  one  of  these  pits  the  workmen  came  upon 
the  remains  of  a  wooden  bowl  which,  it  was  inferred, 
from  the  splintery  fragments  of  rock  embedded  in  the 
rim,  must  have  been  employed  in  bailing  out  water. 


Fig.  56. 


b 


268 


ANCIENT  mNING. 


Remnants  of  charcoal  were  found,  not  only  there,  but 
at  other  points,  lying  on  the  surface  of  the  rock.  Some 
have  supposed  that  fires  had  been  kindled  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  melting  the  copper,  hut  the  more  reasonable 
supposition  is  that  the  purpose  was  to  heat  the  rocks, 
and  then  dash  on  water,  and  thus  shatter  and  destroy 
the  cohesion  between  the  particles.  This  method  was 
practised  by  civilized  nations  before  the  invention  of 
gun-powder,  and  even  at  this  day  in  the  mining  districts 
of  the  Hartz  and  Altenherg.  We  can  hardly  conceive 
how  those  old  miners  broke  down  the  tough  compact 
rocks  with  such  implements  as  they  have  left  behind, 
except  that  they  resorted  to  the  agency  of  fire. 

In  the  Ontonagon  region  for  the  distance  of  thirty 
miles,  such  evidences  abounded.  Upon  Keweenaw 
Point,  they  could  be  traced  along  the  trap  range  from 
Eagle  River  for  twelve  miles  eastward.  In  describing 
these  works  we  have  used  the  past  tense,  for  the 
explorers  of  that  region,  when  they  found  that  these 
mounds  and  depressions  had  been  made  by  a  pre-historic 
race,  were  sure  to  upturn  the  soil  not  as  a  matter  of 
scientific  interest,  but  with  the  hope  of  finding  copper 
veins. 

Mr.  C.  G.  Shaw  pointed  out  to  us  similar  workings 
on  Isle  Royal.  They  occur  on  what  is  known  as  the 
“  Middle  Finger,”  and  can  be  traced  for  the  distance  of 
a  mile.  On  opening  one  of  these  pits  he  found  that  it 
had  been  worked  to  the  depth  of  nine  feet.  At  the 
bottom  was  a  vein  of  native  copper  eighteen  inches 
thick,  enclosing  a  sheet  of  that  metal  lying  near  the 
foot-wall.  Hammers,  similar  to  those  before  described, 
abounded. 

Mr.  S.  W.  Hill  writes  me  at  this  time  (1872),  that  he 
has  found  during  the  past  season,  on  this  island  ancient 
pits  fifty  feet  deep. 


MICA  MINES. 


269 


These  facts  show  how  extensively  copper-mining  was 
prosecuted  by  a  pre-historic  race.  It  may  be  said  that 
there  is  hardly  a  productive  vein  in  that  region  but 
what  shows  traces  of  its  having  been  previously 
wrought.* 

To  connect  the  Copper-miners  with  the  Mound- 
builders,  is  no  difficult  task.  Copper  wrought  into 
various  utensils,  is  found  in  the  mounds  all  the  way 
from  Wisconsin  to  the  Gulf  Coast,  and  the  supply  is 
too  abundant  to  authorize  the  supposition  that  it  was 
derived  from  the  boulder  drift.  Its  wide  distribution  is 
an  evidence,  too,  of  an  extensive  commerce.  To  pene¬ 
trate  that  distant  region  from  the  Ohio  Valley,  involved 
on  the  part  of  the  Mound-builders,  a  voyage  of  a  thou¬ 
sand  miles.  The  passage  to  and  fro  was  made  in  the 
summer  season,  for  there  is  no  evidence,  such  as  mounds, 
village  plots,  or  house  foundations,  to  indicate  perma¬ 
nent  occupancy.  The  climate  is  too  hyperborean  to 
admit  of  the  maturing  of  maize,  and  hence  they  must 
have  had  a  well-organized  commissariat,  with  no  inter¬ 
ruption  in  their  lines  of  communication.  It  is  true,  the 
lakes  and  streams  afforded  an  abundance  of  fish  of  the 
finest  flavor  ;  but  man  cannot  thrive  on  a  fish  diet 
alone. 

The  Mound-builders  carried  on  mining  operations  of 
a  different  nature,  and  in  a  region  equally  remote.  We 

*  In  the  foregoing  account  of  the  ancient  mining  on  Lake  Superior,  I 
have  availed  myself,  with  the  occasional  omission  of  a  sentence  or  the 
substitution  of  a  word,  of  a  chapter  prepared  by  Mr.  Whitney  and  myself, 
and  contained  in  our  “  Report  on  the  Geology  of  the  Lake  Superior 
Region,”  Part  I,  published  by  the  authority  of  Congress,  1850.  This  was 
the  first  connected  account  of  these  ancient  explorations.  The  facts 
embodied  in  that  chapter  have  since  been  appropriated  by  subsequent 
writers,  and  often,  I  regret  to  say,  without  any  acknowledgment  of  the 
source  from  which  they  were  derived. 


270 


ANCIENT  MINING. 


have  seen  that  mica  was  in  great  demand  among  them, 
being  used  probably  for  mirrors  and  personal  ornaments. 
Two  hundred  and  fifty  plates  were  taken  from  the 
Grave  Creek  mound.  Squier  and  Davis,  from  a  mound 
near  Chillicothe,  extracted  several  “  round  sheets,  ten 
inches  or  a  foot  in  diameter,  overlapping  each  other  like 
the  scales  of  a  fish,”  and  a  plate  of  this  material  is  said 
to  have  been  found  in  a  mound  at  Circleville,  which 
was  three  feet  in  length,  one  and  one-half  feet  in  breadth, 
and  one-half  inch  in  thickness. 

It  was  not  until  the  past  year  that  I  became  aware  of 
the  source  from  which  these  large  plates  were  derived ; 
for  whilst  mica  is  an  abundantly-distributed  mineral,  its 
occurrence  in  large  plates,  suitable  for  use  in  the  arts, 
is  rare.  Professor  Kerr,  in  charge  of  the  Geological 
Survey  of  North  Carolina,  informed  me  that  he  was 
lately  called  upon  to  examine  some  ancient  pits  in  the 
mountainous  region  of  that  State,  which  were  supposed 
to  have  been  excavated  by  De  Soto  and  his  followers  in 
search  of  silver,  although  history  does  not  indicate  that 
the  Spanish  hero  took  that  region  in  his  route  to  the 
Mississippi.  In  clearing  out  these  pits,  which  were 
apparently  of  great  antiquity,  it  became  evident  that 
the  mineral  sought  for  was  mica,  and  there  is  little 
doubt  that  this  work  was  done  by  the  Mound-builders. 
These  mines  have  been  re-discovered,  and  under  modern 
enterprise,  the  market  of  this  country  is  now  supplied 
from  the  same  source  to  which  the  Mound-builders 
resorted. 

Lead,  although  easily  reduced,  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  used  to  any  considerable  extent.  Mr.  Wood¬ 
man,  of  Dubuque,  informed  me  that  he  detected  its 
presence  in  one  of  the  mounds  in  the  American  Bottom, 
and  Dr.  Hoy  recovered  from  a  mound  in  Wisconsin, 


ARROW -HEADS. 


271 


a  pipe  which  had  been  fractured  and  subsequently- 
mended  with  a  ferule  of  the  same  material.  The  scarcity 
of  this  metal  is  the  more  singular,  since  the  lead  region 
of  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  and  Illinois  is  dotted  with  their 
works.  Galena  is  frequently  met  with  in  the  mounds 
as  far  south  as  the  Ohio  River. 

The  specular  iron  ores  of  Missouri,  as  we  have  seen, 
were  wrought  as  a  stone  into  what  are  ordinarily  called 
“  plumb-bobs,”  which  are  among  the  most  beautiful  of 
the  Mound-builders’  ornaments. 

Very  many  of  their  implements,  as  has  been  shown, 
are  wrought  out  of  a  greenish  fine-grained  and  ribbon- 
marked  silicious  slate,  and  from  their  wide  diffusion,  it 
is  evident  that  these  people  resorted  to  some  special 
quarry  for  the  supply.  It  is  a  rock  of  metamorphic 
origin,  whose  counterpart  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  unless  it  be  upon  the  rim  of  the 
basin.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  it  was  obtained 
from  the  novaculite  slates  which  are  found  on  the 
sources  of  the  Menomonee. 

The  greenstones  and  porphyries  which  are  the 
materials  of  their  axes,  occur  in  places  upon  the  water¬ 
shed  of  Lake  Superior,  but  the  Drift  affords  an  abundant 
supply,  obviating  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  that  dis¬ 
tant  source. 

The  chert,  associated  with  the  limestones,  was  the 
material  employed  for  arrow-heads,  spear-heads,  hoes, 
and  spades.  On  what  is  known  as  “  Flint  Ridge,”  in 
Muskingum  County,  Ohio,  there  are  numerous  chip- 
pings  often  covered  with  dendritic  markings  which,  while 
a  strong,  are  not  an  absolutely  certain  proof  of  antiquity. 
The  deposit  is  in  the  form  of  chert,  often  approaching 
chalcedony  and  jasper  in  external  characters,  and  it 
afforded  an  admirable  material  for  arrow-heads.  From 


272 


AJSrCIBNT  MINING. 


the  abundance  of  chippings,  this  locality  was  evidently 
resorted  to  by  both  the  Mound-builders  and  the  modern 
Indians. 

“  There  the  ancient  arrow-maker 
Made  his  arrow-heads  of  sandstone  ; 

Arrow-heads  of  chalcedony, 

Arrow-heads  of  flint  and  jasper, 

Smoothed  and  sharpened  at  the  edges. 

Hard  and  polished,  keen  and  costly.”  * 

This  formation,  which  is  a  member  of  the  Coal  series, 
can  be  traced  almost  uninterruptedly  from  the  central 
portion  of  the  State  to  the  Ohio  River,  and  at  several 
points,  similar  evidences  of  arrow-head  manufacture 
have  been  observed. 

Chert  is  abundantly  associated  with  the  Silurian  and 
Devonian  limestones  which  underlie  a  great  portion  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  so  that  the  Mound-builder  had  not 
to  resort  to  remote  sources  for  his  flaked  implements. 

A  writer  upon  our  ethnology,  who  is  often  quoted  — 
Schoolcraft, —  has  informed  us  that  flint  implements  are 
rarely  found  in  our  mounds.  Had  he  been  a  geologist, 
he  would  have  said,  never.  Whilst  we  have  the 
Cretaceous  system  developed  on  a  magnificent  scale,  we 
have  not  the  chalk  formation  with  its  accompanying 

*  Sandstone  was  never  used  by  the  Mound-builders  as  a  material  for 
arrow-heads.  It  has  not  those  frangible  properties  which  admit  of  its 
being  “  sharpened  at  the  edges,”  nor  that  adhesion  between  the  particles 
which  admits  of  its  being  “  polished.”  Quartz  fulfills  these  conditions  ; 
and  chalcedony  and  jasper  are  but  varieties  of  this  mineral.  True  flint 
is  unknown  in  this  country,  but  chert  approaches  it  very  nearly.  The 
mineralogist,  therefore,  would  interpret  this  passage  thus  : 

“  There  the  ancient  arrow-maker 
Made  his  arrow-heads  of  quartz-rock  — 

Arrow-heads  of  chalcedony. 

Arrow-heads  of  chert  and  jasper, — 

Smoothed  and  sharpened,”  etc. 


ERAS  OF  PROGRESS. 


273 


nodules  of  flint ;  but  adopting  flint  as  a  generic  term, 
we  have  ancient  spear  and  arrow-heads  represented  in 
quartz,  chert,  hornstone,  jasper,  chalcedony,  carnelian, 
and  in  the  alkaline-earthy  mineral,  obsidian  which  in 
its  capacity  to  flake  with  a  large  conchoidal  fracture, 
leaving  sharp,  but  brittle  edges,  is  surpassed  by  mo 
other  form.  Squier  and  Davis  found  obsidian  arrow¬ 
heads  in  Ohio,  and  Mr.  Perkins  has  one  found  in 
Wisconsin. 

Uras  of  human  progress. — Ethnologists  have  divided 
the  progress  of  man  into  three  periods  —  the  Age  of 
Stone,  when  he  makes  use  of  the  crudest  and  simplest 
instruments  to  provide  the  means  of  subsistence,  and 
when  he  is  purely  a  barbarian ;  the  Age  of  Bronze, 
which  implies  a  marked  improvement  in  his  social  con¬ 
dition  ;  and  the  Age  of  Iron,  which  is  manifest  in  his 
mastery  over  the  forces  of  nature,  and  in  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  the  highest  civilization. 

It  would  be  presumptuous  to  infer  that  the  successive 
ages  known  as  Stone,  Bronze,  and  Iron,  like  certain 
geological  epochs,  were  synchronous  the  world  over. 
A  rude  people,  cut  off  from  intercourse  with  surrounding 
nations,  and  therefore  incapable  of  adopting  the 
prevailing  knowledge  in  arts  and  inventions,  would 
make  slow  progress  in  civilization.  At  this  day,  on 
many  of  the  isles  of  the  Pacific,  and  in  the  mountainous 
region  of  our  own  country,  are  living  tribes  whose 
weapons  of  warfare  and  the  chase,  the  archaeolo¬ 
gist,  without  knowing  their  history,  would  refer  to 
the  Stone  Age.  Whilst  the  primitive  condition  of  man, 
perhaps,  was  that  of  a  barbarian,  and  the  natural  state  of 
society  that  of  warfare,  yet  the  emergence  from  this 
state,  as  shown  by  all  history,  among  the  different  tribes 
of  the  human  family,  has  been  unecpial,  and  few  have 
s 


274 


ANCIENT  MINING. 


attained,  at  this  day  even,  to  a  high  scientific  and 
moral  enlightenment. 

In  reviewing  the  arts  and  manufactures  of  the 
Mound-builders,  as  set  forth  in  the  preceding  pages, — 
the  vast  number  and  magnitude  of  their  structures, 
their  skill  in  weaving,  in  pottery,  in  fabricating  stone 
implements,  the  extent  to  which  they  substituted  cop¬ 
per  in  the  place  of  bronze,  and  the  wide  range  of  their 
commercial  intercourse,  implied  in  bringing  together 
the  products  of  distant  regions,  such  as  the  native 
copper  of  Lake  Superior,  the  specular  iron  ores  of 
Missouri,  the  mica  of  North  Carolina,  the  shells  of  the 
Gulf  Coast,  and  the  obsidian  of  Mexico,  we  are  justified 
in  assigning  to  them  a  place  in  the  scale  of  civilization 
as  high  as  that  of  the  Bronze  Age  of  the  eastern  hemi¬ 
sphere. 

Their  exclusion  from  the  beautiful  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  which  contains  so  many  memorials  of  their 
industry  and  greatness,  is  not  the  only  example  which 
history  affords  of  the  extermination  of  a  people  con¬ 
siderably  advanced  in  civilization,  by  a  people  more 
vigorous  and  less  inclined  to  the  arts  of  peace. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 

HILE  the  individual  variations  in  the  crania  of 


V  V  a  particular  race  are  so  great  as  to  present  inter¬ 
mediate  gradations  all  the  way  from  one  extreme  to 
another,  thus  forming  a  connecting  link  between  widely- 
separated  races,  yet,  in  a  large  assemblage  of  skulls 
derived  from  a  particular  race,  there  is  a  general  con¬ 
formation,  a  predominant  type,  which  appears  to  have 
been  constant  as  far  back  as  human  records  extend ; 
to  have  been  unaffected  by  food,  climate,  or  personal 
pursuits  ;  and  which  has  been  regarded  among  the 
surest  guides  in  tracing  national  affinities.  Hitherto 
our  knowledge  of  the  Mound-builders’  crania  has  been 
exceedingly  scant  —  restricted  to  less  than  a  dozen 
specimens  —  which,  if  authentic,  clearly  indicate  for 
the  most  part  the  Indian  type.  The  results  of  my 
observations  have  led  me  to  infer  that  the  Mound- 
builders’  crania  were  characterized  by  a  general  con¬ 
formation  of  parts,  which  clearly  separated  them  from 
the  existing  races  of  man,  and  particularly  from  the 
Indians  of  North  America. 

I  propose  to  discuss  these  distinctive  characters, 
based  on  crania  derived  from  points  somewhat  widely 
asunder. 


275 


276 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDEES. 


1.  From  the  region  of  Chicago,  Flinois. 

2.  From  the  region  of  Merom,  Indiana. 

3.  From  the  region  of  Dubuque,  Iowa. 

The  similarity  of  tj^pe  in  these  crania,  apart  from  the 
similarity  in  rveapons  of  warfare,  pottery,  personal  orna¬ 
ments,  and  earthworks,  would  indicate  a  homogeneous 
people  distributed  over  a  Avide  area. 

1.  From  the  region  of  Chicago.  —  A  portion  of  the 
crania  described  in  this  chapter  were  collected  from 
two  groups  of  low  mounds  about  five  miles  apart,  situ¬ 
ated  on  the  banks  of  the  Des  Plaines  River.  Dr.  Stimp- 
son,  now  deceased,  but  whose  memory  will  be  honored 
by  every  cultivator  of  science  in  this  country,  Avas  first 
attracted  to  one  of  these  groups  by  observing  circular 
trenches  investing  knolls  two  and  one-half  feet  above  the 
surrounding  plain,  which  led  him  to  believe  that  they 
were  artificial,  and,  under  his  direction,  Mr.  Charles 
Kennicott,  assisted  by  Dr.  Durham,  entered  upon  their 
exploration.  There  were  portions  of  eleven  skeletons 
found  in  the  first  group,  but  they  were  so  far  decayed 
that  only  one  skull  and  three  frontal  bones,  sufficiently 
well  preserved  to  admit  of  measurement  and  comparison, 
were  obtained. 

The  other  group  of  mounds,  situated  near  Haas’s 
Park,  yielded  human  remains  Avhich  evidently  belonged 
to  tAvo  distinct  epochs.  In  them  were  found  well- 
marked  Indian  skulls,  in  a  condition  slightly  changed, 
and  two  skulls,  evidently  belonging  to  Half-breeds, — 
thus  showing  that  up  to  a  comparatively  recent  time, 
these  mounds  had  been  used  as  places  of  sepulture  by 
different  races.  In  addition  to  these  evidences  of  recent 
entombment,  were  found,  far  gone  in  decomposition, 
quite  a  number  of  crania,  presenting  features  Avhich 
readily  distinguished  them  from  those  of  the  Indian 


FROM  NEAR  CHICAGO. 


Zi  i 

and  Half-breed.  These  relics  have  a  high  value,  as 
without  doubt,  they  are  the  authentic  skulls  of  the 
Mound-builders. 

Fig.  57  = 


a  Superciliary  ridge  and  glabella. 

6  Coronal  suture. 
c  Apex  of  lambdoidal  suture. 
d  Occipital  protruberance. 
e  Squamosal  suture. 
f  Position  of  the  foramen  magnum,  j- 

The  best  preserved  skull  belonging  to  this  pre-historic 
race  was  taken  from  what  is  called  “  Stimpson’s  Mound,” 

*  The  dotted  line  inside  shows  the  contour  of  the  Australian  skull  — 
the  lowest  of  existing  races  ;  the  outer  dotted  line  that  of  the  European 
—  the  highest. 

f  As  these  points,  in  the  subsequent  illustrations,  will  bear  the  same 
letters,  the  names  will  not  be  repeated. 


278 


CRANIA  OP  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


one  of  the  group  first  described.  The  gelatinous  matter 
had  been  dissolved  away,  and  the  bony  matter,  as 
saturated  Avith  moisture,  presented  a  soft  spongy  mass, 
exceedingly  fragile,  which  when  di’ied,  readily  adhered 
to  the  tongue.  The  soil  was  not  unfavorable  to  the 
preservation  of  human  remains,  being  a  fine  loam  which, 
when  packed,  resisted  the  leaching  of  the  waters.  To 
these  remains,  then,  we  may  assign  a  very  considerable 
antiquity. 

This  skull  is  imperfect,  the  left  parietal  being  want¬ 
ing,  and  also  the  base,  and  therefore  will  not  be  the 
subject  of  minute  description.  There  are,  however,  a 
few  general  points  displayed,  which  will  be  found 
characteristic  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  the  crania 
subsequently  represented,  to  which  I  would  direct 
attention. 

1.  The  low  development,  both  in  the  anterior  and 
posterior  regions  at  the  apex  of  the  coronal  (5)  and 
that  of  the  lambdoidal  suture  (c),  as  well  as  the  low 
frontal  eminences,  whereby  the  form  of  the  Gothic 
arch  is  given  to  the  profile  view. 

2.  The  obliquity  of  the  line  which  starts  from  behind 
the  foramen  magnum,  and  runs  to  the  occipital 
crest  (cZ). 

3.  The  tendency  at  the  union  between  the  parietal 
and  squamous  bone  (e)  towards  a  straight  line. 

4.  The  occipital  point  as  forming  the  posterior 
extremity  of  the  skull. 

6.  The  projection  of  the  nasal  bones  beyond  the  gen¬ 
eral  outline  of  the  skull. 

6.  The  vertical  parietal  walls,  the  deeply -notched 
orbital  processes,  and  the  bulging  out  of  the  zygomatic 
arches  (not  represented  in  the  figure)  in  an  extraordi¬ 
nary  degree,  as  compared  with  the  European  skull. 


FKOM  NEAK  CHICAGO. 


279 


Many  of  these  characteristics,  which  are  not  conspic¬ 
uous  in  a  well-developed  European  skull,  indicate  an 
approach  towards  the  lower  animals  of  the  anthropoid 
type  ;  but  still,  between  the  lowest  form  of  the  one 
and  the  highest  form  of  the  other,  there  is  a  broad 
chasm  which  cannot  be  spanned  by  intermediate 
gradations. 

The  measurements  of  this  skull  Avill  be  given  in  a 
tabulated  form.  In  its  general  outline  it  is  Orthoce- 
phalic.  In  brain  capacity,  it  is  about  that  of  the 
Borreby  skull  of  Denmark  —  figured  by  Huxley  — 
which  is  referred  to  the  Stone  age;  —  a  time  just  suc¬ 
ceeding  the  last  great  physical  changes  in  Europe,  and 
when  man  was  the  contemporary  of  the  Urus  and  Bison, 
but  not  of  the  Hairy  Elephant  and  Rhinoceros.  This 
Danish  skull,  with  the  exception  of  the  famous  Nean¬ 
derthal  skull,  is  of  the  lowest  conformation  yet  observed 
in  Europe,  and  when  compared  with  the  Stimpson 
skull,  there  will  be  found  a  striking  parallelism  in  their 
general  outlines, — the  latter  rising  a  little  higher  at  the 
vertex,  and  receding  a  little  in  the  region  of  the  super¬ 
ciliary  ridges,  and  at  the  base  in  the  line  of  d  f.  While 
other  Danish  skulls  of  the  Stone  Age  exhibit  a  higher 
development,  other  Mound-builders’  skulls,  as  I  shall 
show,  are  more  depressed. 

The  “  Kennicott  Mound”  yielded  three  frontal  bones 
—  the  only  parts  of  the  skeleton  capable  of  preserva¬ 
tion —  which  were  also  indicative  of  a  low  t3fpe.  In 
two  instances  there  was  a  rapid  narrowing  in  the 
temporal  region ;  the  plates  were  extraordinarily  thick : 
the  superciliary  ridges  were  massive,  standing  out  like 
ropes  ;  the  orbital  processes  were  profoundly  notched  ; 
and  the  frontal  bone  was  much  prolonged  towards  the 
coronal  suture.  Fig.  58,  reduced  one-haLf,  represents 


280 


CKAJSriA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDBES. 


one  of  these  bones.  No  one,  I  think,  can  view  this 
fragment  of  a  skull,  with  the  superciliary  ridges  pro¬ 
jecting  far  beyond  the  general  contour,  both  laterally 
and  in  front,  and  the  low,  flat  forehead,  with  its  thick, 
bony  walls,  without  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  its 
possessor  was  a  ferocious  brute.  The  prize-fighter  of 
this  day  might  envy  such  a  frontispiece,  adapted  to 
withstand  any  amount  of  pommelling,  or  almost  even 
to  turn  a  musket  ball. 


Fig.  58=i. 


Frontal  portion  of  a  skull  from  “Kennicott’s  Mound,”  near  Chicago. 
a,  a.  Superciliary  ridges,  b,  Coronal  suture. 

The  Haas’s  Park  mounds  yielded  two  crania  which 
were  too  imperfect  to  give  all  the  salient  points.  One 
is  represented  by  a  part  of  the  frontal  and  parietal  bone, 
and  is  characterized  by  an  almost  entire  absence  of  a 
forehead.  The  nasal  bones  are  prolonged  from  the 
point  of  union  with  the  frontal  bones,  like  the  beak  of  a 
bird  or  the  superior  jaw  of  a  gar -pike.  The  bony 


FROM  NEAR  CHICAGO. 


281 


plates  are  of  almost  pasteboard  thinness ;  the  orbital 
rings  are  sharp  and  delicate ;  the  sutures  are  imper¬ 
fectly  joined ;  and  there  is  an  absence  of  frontal  sinuses, 
which  are  supposed  to  be  formed  only  after  puberty, — 
so  that  the  skull  evidently  belonged  to  a  young  person. 

This  is,  undoubtedly,  the  most  remarkable  skull 
hitherto  observed,  affording  the  nearest  approximation 
to  the  anthropoid  forms.  It  is  so  far  anomalous  that  I 
shall  hereafter  omit  to  compare  it  with  existing  types. 
Granting  all  of  the  effects  of  pressure,  whether  artifi¬ 
cially  applied  or  the  result  of  superincumbent  earth 
after  burial,  still,  it  is  difficult  to  bring  it  within 
the  reasonable  bounds  of  conjecture  as  to  our  ideas  of 
the  conformation  of  what  a  human  cranium,  in  its 
widest  deviation  from  a  supposed  type  ought  to  be. 

Fig.  59=i. 


a  Glabella,  v  Vertex. 

There  was  another  skull,  fragmentary  in  character, 
having  about  the  same  contour  as  that  from  the  “Stimp- 


282 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


son  Mound,”  which  I  have  not  deemed  it  necessary  to 
figure.* 

2.  From  the  mounds  in  the  region  of  Merom,  Indiana. 
—  In  a  preceding  chapter  I  have  given  a  description  of 
these  mounds,  and  for  the  skulls  recovered  in  their 
exploration  I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  H.  F.  Harper,  of  that 
place,  who  very  kindly  placed  them  in  my  possession. 

Fig.  60=^. 


Profile  view  of  a  Mound-builder’s  skull,  from  Merom,  Indiana. 


*  That  portion  of  this  chapter,  descriptive  of  the  Mound-builders’ 
skulls,  found  in  the  valley  of  the  Des  Plaines,  and  the  generalization  as  to 
the  former  existence  on  this  continent  of  an  anomalous  race,  charac¬ 
terized  by  a  remarkably  depressed  forehead,  was  submitted  by  me  to  the 
Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences,  in  the  winter  of  1869-70,  and  the  subse¬ 
quent  discoveries  which  have  been  made  but  confirm  me  in  the  views 
originally  entertained  as  to  the  low  type  of  the  Mound-builders’  skulls. 
The  specimens  unfortunately  perished  in  the  great  fire  of  Oct.  8,  1871. 


FROM  MEROM. 


283 


This  skull  has  about  the  same  brain  capacity  as  that 
from  Stimpson’s  Mound  (Fig.  57),  rising  a  little  higher 
in  the  vertical  region,  and  bulging  out  at  the  frontal 
eminences  and  supra-orbital  ridges.  It  is  a  good  illus¬ 
tration  of  what  I  regard  as  typical  of  the  Mound- 
builder’s  skull :  —  the  Gothic  arch  outline  ;  the  very 
considerable  space  between  the  occipital  crest  and  fora¬ 
men  magnum  ;  the  approach  in  the  squamosal  suture  to 
a  horizontal  line;  and  the  great  development  of  the 
occipital  crest,  forming  the  extreme  posterior  part. 
Tlie  back  view  shows  the  joyram'daZ  form,  caused  by  the 
flattening  of  the  parietal  plates,  and  the  zygomatic 
arches,  as  seen  in  the  vertical  view  (not  represented) 
sweep  out  beyond  the  general  contour. 

Fig.  61=J. 


Profile  of  a  Mound-builder’s  skull,-  from  Merom,  Indiana. 


284:  CKANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDEES. 

In  this  specimen,  the  frontal  eminences  are  more 
conspicuous ;  the  superciliary  ridges  are  less  developed ; 
the  space  between  the  foramen  magnum  and  occipital 
crest  is  less ;  but  still  the  latter  point  forms  the 
posterior  extremity,  and  the  squamosal  suture  ap¬ 
proaches  a  straight  line. 

If  we  regard  a  high  forehead  as  the  index  of  mental 
power  —  a  feature  which  is  due  to  the  retreat  of  the 
facial  bones,  and  therefore  indicating  a  divergence  in 
the  development  in  these  parts  from  the  corresponding 
parts  in  the  lower  animals,  we  have  in  this  skull  an 
example  intellectually  above  those  previously  described. 
The  facial  angle  is  less  acute,  and  the  brain  capacity  is 
greater ;  but  still,  in  these  respects,  this  skull  falls  far 
below  that  of  the  average  Teuton. 

Fig.  62=i. 


FROM  MEEOM. 


285 


This  skull  differs  from  the  preceding  illustrations, 
being  of  a  less  elongated  form,  but  has  other  character¬ 
istics  which  link  it  to  the  race  of  Mound-builders,  such 
as  the  wide  interval  between  the  points  d  /,  and  its 
posterior  occipito- extremity.  The  frontal  sinuses  are 
inconspicuous,  and  there  is  a  deficiency  of  develop¬ 
ment,  judged  by  the  European  standard,  in  the  frontal 
and  parietal  regions.  That  it  belonged  to  a  mature 
individual  is  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  coronal 
suture  is  nearly  obliterated.  The  parietal  walls  are 
flattened,  and  the  vault  is  pyramidal.  The  left  lobe  of 
the  cerebrum  is  unduly  developed,  as  will  be  seen  by 
reference  to  the  vertical  view  (Fig.  70),  but  not  more 
so  than  is  to  be  seen  in  European  skulls  at  this  day. 

Fto.  fifl  =h. 


Fragment  of  a  Mound-builder’s  skull,  from  Merom,  Indiana. 
The  dotted  line  represents  the  contour  of  the  Neanderthal  skull. 


286 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


Fig.  64  = 


Posterior  view  of  the  same,  showing  the  “Ossa  Wormensia." 


In  Fig.  63  representing  the  fragmentary  portion  of  a 
skull  extending  from  the  posterior  margin  of  the  foramen 
magnum  to  the  coronal  suture,  we  have  a  lower  develop¬ 
ment  than  in  the  famous  Borreby  skull  from  Denmark. 

In  the  posterior  view,  Fig.  64,  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  is  an  extra  suture  just  above  the  occipital  ridge 
c  1,  giving  origin  to  what  anatomists  call  the  Ossa 
Wormensia.  This  peculiarity  I  observe  in  the  skull  of  a 
Flathead  now  before  me,  and  traces  of  the  former 
existence  of  such  a  suture  I  detect  in  many  of  the 
Mound-builders’  skulls  which  I  have  figured.  While 
this  Wormian  bone  is  not  uncommon  in  European  skulls, 
it  is  an  interesting  inquiry  whether  it  is  not  of  more 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  lower  races  of  mankind. 


FKOM  NEAB  LAPOKTE. 


287 


The  above  profile  views  of  four  skulls  from  this  region 
have  certain  points  of  resemblance  among  themselves, 
and  also  as  compared  with  those  which  I  have  already 
described. 

When  my  attention  was  first  directed  to  these  low 
forms,  I  tried  to  argue  that  they  were  the  result  of  arti¬ 
ficial  pressure,  or  that  in  their  long  entombment,  they 
had  become  warped  and  distorted.  Had  I  seen  but  a 
single  specimen,  I  might  have  said  that  it  was  anomalous, 
that  it  belonged  to  an  idiot ;  but  when  I  find  the  same 
typical  characters  pervading  the  crania  from  widely- 
separated  points,  and  that  in  their  outlines  they  are 
symmetrical,  I  am  led  to  the  irresistible  conclusion  that 
these  characters  are  congenital.* 

In  the  exploration  of  the  mounds  in  the  valley  of 
Kankakee,  near  Laporte,  Indiana,  by  a  party  of  which 
Dr.  Higday  formed  one,  a  single  cranium  only  was  taken 
out  entire,  which  he  regards  in  some  respects  as  remark¬ 
able. 

“  Anteriorly,”  he  remarks,  “  this  skull  is  not  only 
very  low,  but  also  extremely  narrow,  while  posteriorly 
the  space  of  the  cerebellum  is  very  much  depressed  and 
small,  the  occipital  bone  being  flattened  from  its  base 
upwards  and  forwards,  so  as  to  encroach  greatly  on  tlie 
space  which  in  well-developed  skulls  is  occupied  by  the 

*  1  have  but  a  single  specimen  —  from  Merom  — which  clearly  shows 
the  effects  of  artificial  pressure.  It  is  a  large  skull,  and  a  flattened  plane 
occupies  the  space  between  the  occipital  crest  and  the  vertex.  The  sur¬ 
face  for  the  muscular  attachments,  unlike  most  of  the  other  specimens,  is 
very  much  roughened.  Whether  this  flattening  resulted  from  attachment 
to  the  cradle-board  in  infancy,  or  from  pressure  deliberately  applied  in 
after  life,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say, —  perhaps  the  latter.  In  this  case  the 
flattening  is  in  the  occipital  region,  and  therefore  entirely  different  from 
the  usage  which  prevails  among  the  Flatheads  of  the  Northwest  Coast. 
This  flattening  has  given  an  undue  expansion  to  the  parietals,  amounting 
to  a  deformity. 


288 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


posterior  lobes  of  the  cerebrum.  The  extremely  deficient 
development,  which  can  be  much  better  appreciated  by 
an  examination  than  by  a  description,  explains  the 
possibility  of  a  skull  having  at  once  diameters  of  such 
respectable  length  and  capacity,  and  yet  being  so 
extremely  small  (sixty  inches).  That  this  skull  is  that 
of  an  adult,  is  evident  from  the  partial  consolidation 
of  some  of  its  sutures,  and  that  it  is  not  a  dwarf  or  an 
idiot,  we  must  infer  from  its  possessor  having  had  the 
honor  of  a  mound  being  built  over  his  remains.”  * 

3.  From  the  mounds  in  the  region  of  Dubuque,  Iowa. 
—  The  mounds  in  this  vicinity  have  been  described  in 
a  preceding  chapter.  They  are  by  no  means  conspicu¬ 
ous  in  size  and  are  destitute  of  those  long  lines  of  cir- 
cumvallation  which  so  often  invest  those  of  the  Ohio 
Valley. 

During  the  recent  session  of  the  American  Associa¬ 
tion  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  (1872),  several  of 
these  mounds  were  opened,  and  yielded  the  remains  of 
human  skeletons  far  gone  in  decomposition.  Three 
skulls  were  secured  sufficiently  preserved  to  afford  a 
correct  idea  of  their  contour,  one  of  which  passed  into 
the  possession  of  Mr.  Oliver  N.  Ryan,  of  Marshall  Hall, 
Maryland,  and  two  were  secured  by  Mr.  F.  W.  Putnam, 
of  the  “  American  Naturalist.”  Mr.  Ryan  has  kindly 
furnished  me  the  data  for  describing  the  skull  in  his 
possession.  It  was  exhumed  b3'’Dr.  Augustus  Campbell, 
of  Dubuque,  from  a  mound  about  twelve  feet  high,  at 
Dunleith,  Illinois,  opposite  that  city.  The  corpse  was 
buried  about  two  feet  below  the  surface,  and  was 
covered  with  wood  and  stone.  Appended  is  a  figure  of 
this  skull,  which  is  one  of  the  most  anomalous  ever 
found. 

*“  Proceedings  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences.”  1870. 


FROM  DUNLEITH. 


289 


Fig.  65  =  i. 


Fragment  of  a  Mound-builder’s  skull,  from  Dunleith,  Illinois. 

Dotted  line  ;  —  outline  of  the  Neanderthal  skull. 

Although  this  skull  is  fragmentary,  sufficient  remains 
to  enable  us  to  protract  its  general  outlines.  In  brain 
capacity  it  is  as  low  as  the  Neanderthal  skull;  and  that 
it  belonged  to  a  mature  individual  is  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  all  the  sutures  are  closed.  It  differs  from  the 
Neanderthal  skull  in  this  ;  that  while  in  the  former  there 
is  a  prodigious  development  of  the  superciliary  ridges, 
such  as  have  never  before  been  observed  in  a  human 
cranium,  in  the  latter  they  are  not  unduly  prominent. 
It  has  a  marked  resemblance  in  its  contour  to  that  from 
Haas’s  Park,  near  Chicago  (Fig.  59), but  is  a  little  more 
depressed  in  the  frontal  region.  The  nasal  bones,  as  in 
that  specimen,  form  a  bird-like  appendage,  though  not 
quite  so  conspicuously  marked. 

The  Neanderthal  skull,  it  need  hardly  be  remarked, 

T 


290 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS. 


affords  the  nearest  approach  hitherto  observed,  to  the 
confines  of  that  gulf  which  separates  man  from  the 
anthropoid  types.*  • 

In  a  review  of  this  nature  courtesy  requires  that  I 
recognize  the  labors  of  my  predecessors ;  and  I  must 

*  As  this  work  is  passing  through  the  press  I  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  photographs  of  two  characteristic  Mound-builders’  skulls,  preserved  at 
Milwaukee,  with  a  descriptive  note,  from  my  valued  friend  Dr.  Lapham. 
This  testimony  as  to  the  former  existence  of  an  anomalous  race,  by  so  cool 
and  accurate  an  observer  as  Dr.  L.,  I  regard  the  more  valuable,  since  he 
was  inclined  to  believe,  in  his  “  Antiquities  of  Wisconsin,”  that  the 
mounds  were  heaped  up  by  the  ancestors  of  the  Red  man. 

“  Two  skulls  of  the  ancient  Mound-builders,  preserved  at  Milwaukee, 
possess  characteristics  confirming  the  views  lately  advanced  by  you,  first 
at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science,  at  Dubuque  (1872),  and  again  in  the  “  American  Naturalist”  for 
December.  One  of  these  skulls  from  a  mound  at  Wauwatasa,  has  a 
breadth  of  seventy-eight  per  cent,  of  its  length  and  would  be  ranked  as 
Orthocephalic  or  regularly  formed  head.  It  is  so  much  flattened  behind  as 
to  suggest  the  possibility  of  artificial  compression  when  young.  The 
other  skull  has  a  breadth  of  only  seventy  per  cent,  of  its  length  and  there¬ 
fore  ranks  as  a  Dolicocephalic  or  long-head.  The  peculiar  characteristics 
indicating  a  low  grade  of  humanity  common  to  both,  are  a  low  forehead, 
prominent  superciliary  ridges,  the  zygomatic  arches  swelling  out  beyond 
the  walls  of  the  skull,  and  especially  the  prominence  of  the  occipital  ridge. 
The  anterior  portion  of  these  skulls  besides  being  low  is  much  narrowed, 
giving  the  outline,  as  seen  from  above,  of  an  ovate  form. 

“  It  seems  quite  probable  that  men  with  skulls  of  this  low  grade  were 
the  most  ancient  upon  this  continent ;  that  they  were  the  first  to  heap 
up  those  curiously-shaped  mounds  of  earth  which  now  so  much  puzzle  the 
antiquary  ;  that  they  were  gradually  superseded  and  crowded  out  by  a 
superior  race,  who  adopting  many  of  their  customs  continued  to  build 
mounds  and  to  bury  their  dead  in  mounds  already  built.  Hence  we 
find  Mound-builders  with  skulls  of  this  ancient  form,  associated  with 
others  of  more  modern  type. 

“  The  discovery  of  these  skulls  with  characteristics  so  much  like  those 
of  the  most  ancient  of  pre-historic  types  of  Europe,  would  seem  to  indi¬ 
cate  that  if  America  was  peopled  by  emigration  from  the  Old  World,  that 
event  must  have  taken  place  at  a  very  early  time  —  far  back  of  any  of 
which  we  have  any  record.”  (Private  Correspondence.) 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  give  the  figures  of  these  skulls,  but  hope  to  be 
able  to  do  so  hereafter. 


FEOM  TENNESSEE. 


291 


say,  that,  with  a  single  exception,  in  the  figures  hereto¬ 
fore  given  of  Mound-builders’  skulls,  I  fail  to  recog¬ 
nize  the  typical  characters.  Squier  and  Davis  in  their 
admirable  work,  profess  to  have  collected  but  one  skull 
which  they  regarded  as  authentic  of  the  Mound-builders, 
but  any  comparative  anatomist,  on  referring  to  their 
plate,  will  instantly  recognize  it  as  of  the  Indian  type. 

Dr.  Morton  justly  describes  it  as  perhaps  the  most 
admirably  formed  head  of  the  American  race  hitherto 
discovered.  It  possesses  the  national  characteristics  in 
perfection,  as  seen  in  the  elevated  vertex,  flattened 
occiput,  great  interparietal  diameter,  ponderous  bony 
structure,  salient  nose,  large  jaws,  and  broad  face.”* 

Comparing  this  skull  with  those  which  I  have  figured, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  Scioto  skull  differs  widely  from 
the  true  Mound-builder’s  skull  in  its  most  characteristic 
features. 

Morton  gives  figures  of  two  supposed  Mound-builders’ 
skulls,  one  of  which  was  furnished  by  the  late  Dr. 
Troost,  from  a  mound  near  the  junction  of  the  Broad, 
French,  and  Holstein  Rivers  in  Tennessee,  represented 
in  the  annexed 

Fig.  66  =  i. 


Supposed  Mound-builder’s  skull  from  Tennessee. 
*  Morton,  “  Crania  Americana/’  p.  220,  pi.  xxxix. 


292 


CKANIA  OP  TELE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS. 


This  skull  is  remarkable  for  its  great  vertical  and 
parietal  diameter,  and  its  elevated  occiput, — characters 
which  do  not  belong  to  the  skulls  which  I  have  described. 
The  following  are  the  measurements :  Longitudinal 
diameter,  6.6  inches  ;  Parietal,  5.6  ;  Frontal,  4.1  ;  Ver¬ 
tical,  5.6 ;  Internal  capacity,  87.5  cubic  inches.  The 
left  portion  of  the  middle  lobe  of  the  brain-case  is  dis¬ 
torted,  which  may  have  resulted  from  the  individual, 
in  infancy,  having  been  strapped  to  a  cradle  board. 

The  second  example,  given  by  Morton,*  is  of  a  skull 
from  a  mound  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  repre¬ 
sented  in 

Fig.  67  =  i. 


Supposed  Mound-builder’s  skull  from  the  Upper  Mississippi. 

The  skull  from  the  Grave  Creek  mound.  West  Vir¬ 
ginia,  figured  by  Morton  and  reproduced  in  School¬ 
craft’s  work,  is  of  the  Indian  type. 

Lapham,  in  his  “  Antiquities  of  Wisconsin,”  has 
figured  a  skull  from  a  mound,  which  has  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  Flathead. 


*  Ibidem,  p.  229,  pi.  vi. 


THEIR  CLASSIFICATION. 


293 


Classification  of  skulls. —  In  the  classification  of  skulls, 
comprehending  the  relation  of  breadth  to  length,  those 
which  are  less  than  seventy-three  to  one  hundi’ed  are 
called  long  or  Dolicocephalic  ;  those  whose  proportions 
are  less  than  seventy -four  and  seventy-nine  to  one 
hundred  are  medium,  or  Orthoceplialic  ;  and  those  whose 
proportions  reach  eighty  and  eighty-nine  to  one  hun¬ 
dred  are  Br  achy  cephalic.  The  Mound-builders’  skulls 
which  I  have  examined,  differ  on  the  one  hand,  from  the 
Indian  type,  which  is  Br  achy  cephalic,  and  from  the 
Teutonic,  on  the  other,  which  is  Bolicocephalic.  They 
are  intermediate,  or  Orthocephalic,  as  will  be  apparent 
from  the  following  figures,  reduced  to  one-fourth  the 
natural  size : 

Fig.  68.  Fig.  69. 


Vertical  views  of  Mound-builders’  skulls,  from  Merom,  Indiana. 


Fig.  68  is  a  vertical  view  of  the  skull  represented  in 
Fig.  60,  and  Fig.  69  of  that  represented  in  Fig.  61. 
The  vertical  view  represented  in  Fig.  70  is  the  skull 
represented  in  Fig.  62.  The  latter  approaches  the 


294 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


Fig.  70. 


short-liead  form,  and  wliile 
the  corresponding  walls 
are  not  symmetrical,  there 
is  nothing  to  indicate  arti¬ 
ficial  distortion.  In  Figs. 
68  and  69  the  relation  of 
breadth  to  length  is  about 
seventy-three  to  one  hun¬ 
dred,  and  in  Fig.  70  it 
reaches  seventy-four  to  one 
hundred.  This  ellipsoidal 
form,  or  in  other  words, 
this  deviation  from  the 


From  Merom,  Indiana.  g^^at  interparietal  diam¬ 


eter,  which  is  charac' 


teristic  of  the  Indian  type,  and  which  gives  to  the 
savage  his  ferocious  and  untamable  character,  is  a  broad 
distinction  which  cannot  be  overlooked.  From  these 
examples  of  a  want  of  conformity  in  craniological  devel¬ 
opment,  apart  from  other  evidences,  I  think  we  are 
•  justified  in  drawing  the  conclusion  that  the  Mound- 
builders  were  not  the  ancestors  of  the  North  American 
Indians. 

The  question  arises,  whether  this  singular  conforma¬ 
tion  of  skull  is  congenital,  or  the  result  of  artificial 
pressure.  We  know  that  the  Flatheads  and  Chenooks 
of  the  Columbia  River  indulge  in  this  usage  at  the 
present  day,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  other 
tribes  did  formerly.  But,  with  regard  to  the  Mound- 
builders’  skulls,  it  may  be  said  that,  while  the  volume 
of  the  brain  is  small,  the  brain-case  is  as  symmetrical 
as  that  of  the  European.  Where  artificial  pressure  is 
resorted  to,  as  pointed  out  by  Morton,  the  brain  in  volume 
is  not  diminished,  but  is  extraordinarily  developed  in 


DISTINCTIVE  CHAKACTEKS. 


295 


those  parts  of  the  case  where  the  pressure  is  not 
applied,  and  hence  we  have  the  most  grotesque  distor¬ 
tions.  The  coui-se  of  every  bandage  is  marked  by  a 
corresponding  cavity  in  the  bony  structure.  This  is 
illustrated  in  the  following  figure,  the  original  of  which 
was  furnished  me  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Boyd  i 


Fig.  61=i. 


Skull  of  a  Flathead,  in  the  Museum  of  the  Chicago  Medical  College. 

The  distortion  of  this  skull,  as  seen  in  the  profile,  is 
enormous,  but  in  the  vertical  view,  not  given,  it  is  still 
more  exaggerated,  the  left  parietal  wall  bulging  out 
like  a  great  tumor.  There  were  apparently  two  band¬ 
ages  applied  to  effect  this  distortion, —  one  across  the 
frontal  bone,  just  above  the  superciliary  ridges,  and  one 
just  back  of  the  coronal  suture. 

Distinctive  characters. —  The  skulls  which  I  have 
described  possess  peculiarities  which  ally  them  more 
nearly  with  the  Mongolian  race  than  with  the  Negro  or 
European.  They  belong  in  one  respect  to  what  Dr. 


296 


CRANIA  OP  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


Prichard  calls  the  Pyramidal  type^  but  in  other  respects 
they  present  characters  wliich  are  sui  generis.  The 
pyramidal  form,  seen  in  cross  section,  arises  from  the 
pecuhar  conformation  of  the  malar  bones,  giving  an 
outward  sweep  to  the  zygomatic  arches. 

I  append  a  synopsis  of  what  I  regard  as  the  distinct¬ 
ive  characters  of  the  Mound-builder’s  skull,  selecting  for 
the  purpose  the  one  represented  by  Fig.  60,  which  belongs 
to  neither  the  lowest  nor  the  highest  forms ;  and  that 
the  reader  may  compare  these  peculiarities  with  those 
of  the  idiot  as  given  by  Humphry,  I  shall,  as  far  as 
convenient,  follow  his  order  of  description.*  It  is  to 

*  “  The  skull  of  the  idiot,”  says  Humphry,  "  presents  in  many  respects 
an  approximation  to  the  skull  of  the  lower  animals,  especially  that  of  the 
ape,  in  the  following  particulars  :  The  facial  bones  are  proportionately 
large  ;  the  brain  case  is  contracted  in  every  direction,  more  particularly 
in  front  and  above,  causing  lowness  and  narrowness  of  the  forehead,  but 
also  behind  and  below  ;  the  space  behind  the  foramen  magnum  is  small, 
and  the  bone  slopes  obliquely  upward  from  it  to  the  occipital  crest ;  the 
foramen  itself  partakes  somewhat  of  this  slant  ;  the  occipital  condyles 
are  small  and  preternaturally  convex,  and  the  basilar  portion  of  the 
occipital  bone  ascends  with  unusual  obliquity  from  them  ;  the  temporal 
fosss  are  deep  ;  the  temporal  ridge  is  well-marked  and  ascends  to  a 
comparatively  high  level,  and  this,  together  with  the  flattening  of  the 
parietal  bones,  and  the  prominence  of  their  sagittal  portion,  constitutes 
an  approximation  to  a  ‘  sagittal  crest.’  The  line  of  union  of  the  tem¬ 
poral  with  the  parietal  bones  is  straighter  than  usual,  and  the  post-glenoid 
process  is  rather  more  marked.  The  frontal  bone  projects  far  backward, 
in  the  situation  of  the  anterior  fontanelle  between  the  parietals  ;  the  pos¬ 
terior  and  middle  cerebral  fossae  are  shallow.  .  .  .  The  foramen  magnum 
and  the  other  foramina  for  nerves  are  comparatively  large  ;  the  foramina 
for  vessels,  as  well  as  the  grooves  for  the  sinuses  are,  on  the  other  hand, 
comparatively  small.  The  cranial  bones  are  generally  thick',  and  the 
sutures  early  obliterated. 

“  The  orbits  are  comparatively  large,  their  anterior  outlines  are  oblique, 
and  the  superciliary  ridges  prominent  and  project  beyond  the  general 
width  of  the  cranium.”  (“  A  treatise  on  the  Human  Skeleton,”  by  G.  W. 
Humphry,  Lecturer  on  Surgery,  in  the  Cambridge,  England,  University 
Medical  School,  p.  233.) 


DISTINCTIVE  CHARACTERS. 


297 


be  regretted  that  in  all  my  specimens,  with  a  single 
exception,  the  facial  bones  are  wanting. 

In  examining  this  skull  in  its  general  outlines  the 
observer  is  struck  by  the  scantiness  of  brain  capacity, 
seen  in  the  narrow  forehead,  the  receding  frontal  bone, 
and  a  similar  recession  in  the  region  of  the  lambdoidal 
suture,  which  give  to  the  vertex  an  undue  prominence, 
and  to  the  longitudinal  arc  an  outline  approaching  in 
form  a  Gothic  arch. 

That  portion  of  the  occipital  bone  behind  the  fora¬ 
men  magnum,  instead  of  being  continued  in  a  nearly 
straight  line,  as  seen  in  the  European  skull,  curves  up  to 
the  occipital  crest.  The  occipital  condyles  are  small, 
and  “  the  basilar  portion  of  the  occipital  bone  ascends 
with  unusual  obliquity  from  them.”  “  The  foramen 
magnum  and  the  other  foramina  for  nerves  at  the 
base,  are  comparatively  large  ;  the  foramina  for  vessels 
as  well  as  the  grooves  for  the  sinuses  are,  on  the  other 
hand,  comparatively  small.”  The  post-glenoid  pro¬ 
cess,  as  in  the  Negro,  is  strongly  marked  ;  the  occipital 
crest  is  highly  ridged,  and  arched  convexly  like  the 
figure  and  the  point  where  these  arches  intersect 
forms  the  extremity  of  the  skull ;  the  temporal  fossae  are 
deep  and  the  temporal  ridge  is  prominent ;  the  apex  is 
about  midway  between  the  coronal  and  lambdoidal 
suture ;  the  parietal  plates,  instead  of  swelling  into 
a  rounded  outline,  are  flattened ;  the  suture  con¬ 
necting  the  squamous  bones  with  the  parietal  is  less 
convex  than  in  the  European,  and  in  this  respect 
approaches  that  of  the  chimpanzee  and  the  lower 
animals,  in  whom  it  is  nearly  straight ;  the  superciliary 
ridges  are  strongly  marked  and  project  beyond  the 
general  contour  of  the  brain-case;  and  the  glabella 
forms  the  extreme  point  of  the  anterior  portion  of 


298 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


the  skull.  The  orbits,  where  bounded  by  the  super¬ 
ciliary  ridges  and  the  nasal  septum,  owing  to  the  deep 
supra-orbital  notch,  are  of  a  quadrangular  shape  ;  the 
frontal  eminences  are  very  slight,  which  makes  the 
superciliary  ridges  more  conspicuous  and  the  forehead 
more  retreating  ;  and  the  zygomatic  arches  swell  out 
beyond  the  parietal  walls,  which  in  the  European  skull 
so  far  overhang  as  to  conceal  them  in  the  vertical 
view.  From  this  point  of  observation  it  may  be  said  that 
all  the  exterior  prominences  are  visible, — the  occipital 
protuberance,  the  zygomatic  arches,  and  the  super¬ 
ciliary  ridges. 

The  frontal  bone  is  of  great  strength  and  slopes 
backward,  encroaching  on  the  parietals,  and  giving 
origin  to  a  low  forehead.  In  the  lower  animals  this 
bone  becomes  nearly  horizontal  and  is  placed  behind 
the  eyes.  “  In  proportion,”  says  Humphry,  “  as  the 
cranial  portion  slopes  backward,  so  do  its  facial  but¬ 
tresses  —  the  nasal  and  angular  processes  —  slant 
forwards ;  and  in  proportion  as  the  brain  is  well 
developed  and  the  cranial  part  of  the  bone  is  upright, 
so  are  the  facial  processes  directed  perpendicularly 
downwards.  In  the  lower  animals,  for  instance,  they 
grow  directly  forwards,  in  the  lower  races  of  mankind 
they  grow  downwards  and  forwards,  and  in  the  best 
formed  human  skulls  they  grow  almost  vertically  down¬ 
wards.” 

Such  are  the  characters  which  seem  to  predominate 
in  the  Mound-builders’  skulls,  —  characters  which 
distinguish  them  from  the  Negro  on  one  hand  and  the 
Teuton  on  the  other.  Individual  variations  occur,  as 
might  be  expected,  for  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  all 
have  been  cast  in  a  single  mould.  All  the  specimens 
indicate  a  low  intellectual  organization,  little  removed 
from  that  of  the  idiot. 


MENTAL  TRAITS. 


299 


On  comparing  the  figure  with  a  European  skull,  these 
anatomical  traits  will  be  apparent  by  contrast,  particu¬ 
larly  the  increased  development  of  the  frontal  and 
panietal  regions,  the  outward  curving  of  the  occiput,  the 
horizontality  of  the  line  between  the  occipital  ridge  and 
the  foramen  magnum,  and  the  convexity  of  the  squa¬ 
mosal  suture. 

It  is  the  preponderance  of  the  brain-case  over  the 
facial  portion  of  the  head,  that  gives  to  man  his  supe¬ 
riority  as  compared  with  the  lower  animals ,  and  we 
estimate  the  mental  grasp  and  the  capacity  for  improve¬ 
ment  in  the  several  races  of  men  by  the  same  standard. 
The  skull,  in  size  and  outline,  has  a  general  conformity 
to  the  enclosed  brain ;  the  bony  walls  take  their  shape 
from  the  nervous  tissue,  as  the  shell  of  the  oyster  is 
shaped  to  accommodate  its  living  tenant.  The  brain  is 
undoubtedly  the  seat  of  mental  activity,  and,  without 
endorsing  phrenology  in  all  its  details,  we  may  affirm 
that  a  particular  form  of  skull  is  indicative  of  particu¬ 
lar  traits  of  character.  We  place  the  seat  of  the  intel¬ 
lectual  faculties  in  the  anterior  lobe;  of  the  propensities 
which  link  us  to  the  brute,  in  the  middle  lobe  ;  and  of 
those  which  appertain  to  the  social  affections,  in  the 
posterior  lobe.  The  predominance  of  any  one  of  these 
divisions  in  a  people  would  stamp  them  as  either 
eminently  intellectual,  or  eminently  cruel,  or  eminently 
social.  The  Mound-builders,  assuming  these  skulls  to 
be  typical,  were  doubtless  neither  eminent  for  great 
virtues  nor  great  vices,  but  were  a  mild,  inoffensive 
race,  who  would  fall  an  easy  prey  to  a  crafty  and  cruel 
foe.  Under  the  guidance  of  a  superior  mind,  we  can 
imagine  that  they  would  be  content  to  toil,  without 
weighing  deliberately  the  nature  or  amount  of  the 
reward.  Like  the  Chinese,  they  could  probably  imitate 


300 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS. 


but  not  invent  ;  and,  secure  from  the  irruption  of 
enemies,  they  would,  in  time,  develop  a  rude  civil¬ 
ization. 

The  Indian  possesses  a  conformation  of  skull  which 
clearly  separates  him  from  the  pre-historic  Mound- 
builder,  and  such  a  conformation  must  give  rise  to 
different  mental  traits.  His  brain,  as  compared  with  the 
European,  according  to  George  Combe,  differs  widely 
m  the  proportions  of  the  different  parts.  The  anterior 
lobe  is  small,  the  middle  lobe  is  large,  and  the  central 
convolutions  on  the  anterior  lobe  and  upper  surface,  are 
small.  The  brain-case  is  box-like,  with  the  corners 
rounded  off ;  the  occiput  extends  up  vertically  ;  the 
frontal  ridge  is  prominent ;  the  cerebral  vault  is  pyra¬ 
midal  ;  the  interparietal  diameter  is  great ;  the  super¬ 
ciliary  ridges  and  zygomatic  arches  sweep  out  beyond 
the  general  line  of  the  skull ;  the  orbits  are  quad¬ 
rangular  ;  the  forehead  is  low  ;  the  cheek-bones  high; 
and  the  jaws  prognathous.  His  character,  since  first 
known  to  the  white  man  has  been  signalized  by  treachery 
and  cruelty.  He  repels  all  efforts  to  raise  him  from  his 
degraded  position  ;  and  whilst  he  has  not  the  moral 
nature  to  adopt  the  virtues  of  civilization,  his  brutal 
instincts  lead  him  to  welcome  its  vices.  He  was  never 
known  voluntarily  to  engage  in  an  enterprise  requiring 
methodical  labor  ;  he  dwells  in  temporary  and  movable 
habitations  ;  he  follows  the  game  in  their  migrations ; 
he  imposes  the  drudgery  of  life  upon  his  squaw  ;  he 
takes  no  heed  for  the  future.  To  suppose  that  such  a 
race  threw  up  the  strong  lines  of  circumvallation  and 
the  symmetrical  mounds  which  crown  so  many  of  our 
river-terraces,  is  as  preposterous,  almost,  as  to  suppose 
that  they  built  the  pyramids  of  Egypt. 

Was  there  an  autochthonous  race  having  this  form  of 


ANCIENT  BRAZILIANS. 


301 


skull?  —  In  the  results  of  archaeological  explorations  at 
other  points  on  this  hemisphere,  we  have  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  nations  whose  skulls  had  many  of  the 
distinctive  features  which  appertain  to  those  of  the 
Mound-builder. 

Dr.  Lund,  a  distinguished  Swedish  naturalist,  many 
years  ago,  in  the  bone  caves  of  Minas  Geraes,  Brazil, 
found  the  remains  of  men  associated  with  those  of 
extinct  quadrupeds  under  circumstances  which  led  him 
to  believe  that  the  whole  were  contemporaneous.  In 
his  communication  to  the  Geographical  and  Historical 
Society  of  Brazil,  an  abstract  of  which  was  forwarded 
to  Dr.  Morton  by  Lieutenant  Strain,  he  says : 

“  The  question  then  arises,  who  are  these  people  ? 
Of  what  race,  and  what  their  intellectual  perfections? 
The  answers  to  these  questions  are,  happily,  less  difficult 
and  doubtful.  He  examined  various  crania,  in  order  to 
determine  the  place  they  ought  to  occupy  in  anthro¬ 
pology.  The  narrowness  of  the  forehead,  the  promi¬ 
nence  of  the  zygomatic  bones,  the  maxillary  and  orbital 
conformation,  all  assign  to  these  crania  a  place  among 
the  characteristics  of  the  American  race,  and  it  is 
known  that  the  race  which  approximates  nearest  this 
is  the  Mongolian  ;  and  the  most  distinctive  and  salient 
character  by  which  we  distinguish  between  them  is  the 
greater  depression  of  the  forehead  in  the  former.  In 
this  point  of  organization,  these  ancient  crania  show 
not  only  the  peculiarity  of  the  American  race,  but  this 
peculiarity,  in  many  instances,  is  in  excessive  degree, 
even  to  the  entire  disappearance  of  the  forehead. 

“We  know  that  the  human  figures  found  sculptured 
on  the  ancient  monuments  of  Mexico,  represent,  for  the 
greater  part,  a  singular  conformation  of  head,  being  with¬ 
out  forehead,  the  crania  retreating  backward  immedi- 


302 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


ately  above  the  superciliary  arch.  This  anomaly,  which 
is  generally  ascribed  to  an  artificial  disfiguration  of  the 
head  or  taste  of  the  artist,  now  admits  of  a  more  natural 
explanation,  it  being  proved  by  these  authentic  docu¬ 
ments,  that  there  really  existed  in  this  country  a  race 
exhibiting  this  anomalous  conformation.  The  skeletons 
which  were  of  both  sexes,  were  of  the  ordinary  height, 
although  two  of  them  were  above  the  common  stature. 
These  heads  according  to  the  received  opinion  in  crani- 
ology,  could  not  have  occupied  a  high  position  intel¬ 
lectually.”* 

Upon  the  altar-tablets  and  bass-reliefs  of  Copan  and 
Uxmal,  in  Central  America,  as  reproduced  by  Cather- 
wood,  we  have  this  type  of  skull  delineated  by  artists 
who  had  the  skill  to  portray  the  features  of  their  race. 
These  artists  would  not  select  the  most  holy  of  places 
as  the  groundwork  for  their  caricatures.  This  form, 
then,  pertained  to  the  most  exalted  personages. 

Humboldt  and  Bonpland  were  the  first  to  draw  atten¬ 
tion  to  this  remarkable  configuration  of  skull.  The 
former,  as  far  back  as  1808,  thus  stated : 

“  This  extraordinary  flatness  is  found  among  nations 
to  whom  the  means  of  producing  artificial  deformity  are 
totally  unknown,  as  is  proved  by  the  crania  of  Mexican 
Indians,  Peruvians,  and  Atures,  brought  over  by  M. 
Bonpland  and  myself,  of  which  several  were  deposited 
in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  of  Paris.”  f 

Mr.  Pentland  supposed  this  conformation  to  be  con¬ 
genital,  and  states  that  this  view  was  confirmed  by 
Cuvier,  Gall,  and  many  celebrated  anatomists.  Tiede- 
mann’s  expressions  are :  “  A  careful  examination  of 
these  skulls  has  convinced  me  that  their  peculiar  shape 

*  “Journal  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia,”  1844. 

jf  "  Political  Essays,”  vol.  i,  p.  159. 


ARTIFICIAL  DEFORMATION. 


303 


cannot  be  owing  to  artificial  pressure.  The  great 
elongation  of  the  face,  and  the  direction  of  the  plane 
of  the  occipital  bone  are  not  to  be  reconciled  with  this 
opinion,  and  therefore  we  must  conclude  that  the 
peculiarity  of  shape  depends  on  a  natural  conformation.” 
Knox  says :  “  The  form  of  the  head  I  speak  of,  is  pecu¬ 
liar  to  the  race ;  it  may  be  exaggerated  somewhat  by 
such  means  (pressure),  but  cannot  be  so  produced.” 

Sir  Robert  Schomburgh  found  on  some  of  the  affluents 
of  the  Orinoco,  a  tribe  known  as  the  Frog  Indians, 
whose  heads  were  flattened  by  nature.  A  child  was 
born  while  he  was  with  them,  which  he  saw  an  hour 
after  its  birth,  that  had  all  the  characteristics  of  the 
mother’s  tribe,  “  and  the  flatness  of  its  head,  as  com¬ 
pared  with  the  heads  of  other  tribes,  was  remarkable.”  * 
Rivero  and  Tschudi,  whose  researches  in  South 
America  command  confidence,  believe  that  the  artificial 
disfigurement  of  the  skull  which  prevailed  among  the 
Inca-Peruvians,  owed  its  origin  to  the  prior  existence 
of  an  autochthonous  race,  having  this  peculiarity  ;  and 
they  further  state  that  it  is  seen  in  the  foetus  of  Peruvian 
mummies. 

Retzius,  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  Morton,  has  shown 
that  the  ancient  Peruvians  and  tlie  Huanchas  of  Tschudi, 
were  Dolicocephali^  although  he  regards  their  skulls  as 
much  disfigured  by  artificial  compression,  while  the 
Aztecs  belonged  to  the  Brachycephali.  He  has  further 
shown  that  this  practice  of  artificial  deformation  instead 
of  being  confined  to  this  continent,  was  in  vogue  among 
some  of  the  Oriental  nations,  among  the  Swiss  Lake- 
dwellers,  and  that  it  still  exists  in  France,  f 

Upon  the  question  whether  this  peculiarity,  if  the 

*“  Journal  Royal  Geographical  Society,”  xv.,  pp.  53-34. 
f  Retzius,  “In  relation  to  the  Form  of  the  Human  Skull,” 


304 


CEAJSriA  OF  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS. 


result  in  the  first  instance  of  artificial  pressure  and  per¬ 
sisted  in  for  generations,  would  become  congenital,  the 
following  authorities  may  be  cited.  “  In  all  changes 
wliich  are  produced  in  the  bodies  of  animals  by  the 
action  of  external  causes,  the  effect  terminates  in  the 
individual ;  the  offspring  is  not  in  the  slightest  degree 
modified  by  them.”  * 

“  Nothing,”  says  Dr.  Prichard,  “  seems  to  hold  true 
more  generally,  than  that  all  acquired  conditions  of 
body,  whether  produced  by  art  or  accident,  end  with 
the  life  of  the  individual.” 

Darwin  would  probably  account  for  this  peculiarity 
on  the  ground  of  Sexual  Selection.! 

These  authorities  would  indicate  that  there  was  a 
conformity  in  the  craniology  of  the  earlier  races  on  this 
hemisphere,  embracing  the  primeval  people  of  Brazil, 
the  Huanchas  of  Peru,  the  Teocalli-builders  of  Mexico, 
and  the  Mound-builders  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

The  Peruvian  skull,  as  compared  with  the  Indian,  is 
deficient  in  capacity,  being,  according  to  Morton,  no 
greater  than  that  of  the  Hottentot  or  New  Hollander. 
In  measuring  155  crania  of  the  former,  they  gave  but 
seventy -five  cubic  inches  for  the  bulk  of  the  brain,  while 
the  Teutonic  crania  gave  ninety-two  inches.  The 
average  between  the  Peruvian  and  Indian  is  nine  inches 
in  favor  of  the  latter.  J 

How  is  it,  then,  it  has  been  asked,  that  with  this  low 
mental  power,  these  Peruvians  should  have  been  able 
to  construct  such  stupendous  works,  and  develop  a  very 
considerable  civilization,  while  the  Indian,  with  far 

*  Lawrence,  ‘  ‘  Lectures,"  etc.,  p.  436.  For  the  compilation  of  many  of 
these  authorities,"*!  am  indebted  to  Mr.  S.  F.  Haven,  “  Archseology  of  the 
United  States,"  (Smithsonian  Contributions.) 

t  See  “  Descent  of  Man,”  chap.  viii. 

X  Morton’s  “  Crania  Americana.” 


SIZE  OP  SKULLS. 


305 


greater  volume  of  brain,  exhibits  such  slight  construct¬ 
ive  power,  and  has  resisted  all  attempts  to  elevate  his 
condition  ?  Mr.  J.  S.  Phillips  has  attempted  to  answer 
this  question  : 

“  The  intellectual  lobe  of  the  brain  of  these  people,  if 
not  borne  down  by  such  overpowering  animal  propensi¬ 
ties  and  passions,  would,  doubtless,  have  been  capable 
of  much  greater  efforts  than  any  with  which  we  are 
acquainted,  and  have  enabled  these  barbaric  tribes  to 
make  some  progress  in  civilization.  .  .  .  The  intel¬ 

lectual  and  moral  qualities  of  the  Mexicans  and  Peru¬ 
vians  are  left  more  free  to  act,  not  being  so  subordinate 
to  the  propensities  and  violent  passions.”* 

Fig.  72. 


A 


Comparative  size  of  different  skulls. 

A  Contour  of  European  skull. 

B  “  “  that  from  Stimpson’s  Mound,  No.  57. 

C  “  “  that  of  the  Neanderthal  Skull. 

D  "  “  that  from  the  Dunleith  Mound,  No.  65. 

E  *'  “  the  Chimpanzee  skull. 

a  The  glabella. 
b  The  occipital  crest. 

*  Appendix  to  Morton’s  “  Physical  Tvne  of  the  (Xmerican  Indian.” 


306 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDEES. 


Above,  I  give  the  contours  of  the  most  anomalous 
skulls  referred  to  in  this  chapter,  reduced  to  a  uniform 
scale. 

So  great  is  the  range  of  variation  in  the  crania  of  the 
living  tribes  of  men  that  it  is  unsafe  to  pronounce  upon 
their  average  capacity  except  from  an  examination  of  a 
large  collection.  Thus  far  but  few  authentic  Mound- 
builders’  skulls  have  been  exhumed,  and  they  indicate 
that  that  race  must  have  ranked  intellectually  below 
the  lowest  types  of  Australia  and  New  Caledonia. 

Leaving  out  the  Engis  skull  which  shows  a  good 
degree  of  mental  grasp,  it  may  be  said  that  the  earliest 
types  of  man  are  inferior,  as  indicated  by  the  Neander¬ 
thal  skull,  as  well  as  by  those  recovered  from  the  Danish 
and  British  tumuli,  to  say  nothing  of  the  strange  human 
jaw  found  by  Dupont  in  Belgium,  which  approaches  those 
of  the  anthropomorphous  apes,  and  another  of  analo¬ 
gous  traits  found  by  the  Marquis  de  Vibraye  in  France, 
both  of  which  are  supposed  to  be  referable  to  the  dawn 
of  the  human  period.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate 
modern  degeneracy,  whether  applied  to  the  intellectual 
or  physical  capacity  of  the  Teutonic  race.  So  far  from 
it,  there  are  strong  grounds  for  believing  that  our  remote 
ancestors  lived  in  brutal  barbarism,  with  modes  of 
thought  and  daily  pursuits  far  different  from  those  of 
the  educated  and  much-planning  man  of  to-day  ;  and 
that,  through  a  state  of  progression,  long  continued, 
often  checked,  but  still  acquiring  strength  to  advance, 
a  portion  of  the  human  family  have  been  able  to  attain 
a  high  degree  of  civilization  —  a  civilization  which 
implies  intellectual  culture  and  an  ability  to  render  the 
forces  of  nature  subservient  to  human  wants  and  con¬ 
veniences. 

That  the  investigator  may  comprehend  the  relative 


MEASUEEMENTS. 


307 


rank  which  the  Mound-builder  occupied  in  what  I  may- 
call  the  scale  of  humanity,  I  give  the  following  table 
of  measurements  of  the  crania  of  the  superior  and 
inferior  races  of  mankind,  as  they  exist  at  this  day ;  — 
those  from  the  United  States  being  taken  from  “The 
Military  and  Anthropological  Statistics  of  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion,”  published  by  the  Sanitary  Commission 
under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  B.  A.  Gould,* *  and  those 
from  foreign  sources  being  reproduced  from  Huxley  : 

Table  of  Measurements. 


Note.  If  the  hair  and  scalp  were  re¬ 
moved,  the  circumference  would  be  reduced 
from  one  to  one  and  one-half  inches. 


White  Soldiers. 

Iroquois _ 

Mulattoes . . 

Negroes. . . 


Circ’f.  around  forehead  and 
occiput. 

Distance  between  condy¬ 
loid  processes. 

P’rph’ry  from  eyebrows  to  | 
1  occipital  crest,  j 

Over^  forehead  and 
occiput. 

Overtopofthe  head. 

Over  occiput. 

22.13 

II. 31 

13-31 

11.82 

14.48 

22.48 

12.08 

13.71 

11.58 

14-45 

22.00 

12.34 

I4.II 

12.24 

13-55 

21.91 

10.98 

13-95 

11-55 

14.40 

In  the  following  table,  while  giving  the  measurement 
of  English  and  Australian  skulls,  as  well  as  of  those 
known  as  the  Engis  and  Neanderthal  skulls  belonging 
to  a  pre-historic  race,  I  also  append,  for  the  purpose  of 
comparison,  the  measurements  of  the  true  Mound- 
builders’  skulls  described  in  this  chapter  : 

*  This  truly  admirable  work  is  a  great  storehouse  of  facts,  to  which 
everyone  who  would  study  the  Anthropology  of  our  country  should  resort. 
Crude  notions  have  been  expressed  that  our  climate  is  so  baneful  to  the 
European,  that  were  it  not  for  fresh  accessions  from  abroad,  our  continent 
would  soon  be  depopulated.  We  have  here  ample  materials  for  com¬ 
paring  the  physical  development  of  Americans,  not  only  among  them¬ 
selves,  but  with  those  of  other  nationalities  ;  and  the  effects  of  climate 
and  regimen  are  clearly  set  forth. 


308 


CRANIA  OF  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDEES. 


Table  of  Measurements. 


NATIOWALITY. 

A 

B 

C 

D 

B 

F 

English _  _ . _ 

21 

13.75 

12.50 

4.40 

7.87 

5-33 

Australian  (No.  i) . . . 

20.50 

13 

12 

4.75 

7-50 

5-40 

“  (No.  2) _ 

22 

12.50 

10.75 

3.80 

7.90 

5-75 

Engis,  Belgium _ _ _ 

20.50 

13-75 

12.50 

4.75 

7-75 

5.25 

Neanderthal,  Prussian  Empire..  . 

23 

12 

10 

3-75 

8 

5.75 

Merom,  Indiana  (No.  60) _ 

20.50 

12.87 

11.25 

4 

7-25 

5-50 

“  “  (No.  61) _ 

20.62 

12.87 

12 

3-87 

7.37 

5-37 

”  "  (No.  62) _ 

19-50 

12.50 

11.62 

4-37 

6.62 

5.62 

“  (No.  63) - 

21 

13-50 

12.50 

4.12 

7.12 

6 

Chicago,  Illinois  (No.  57) _ 

20.25 

12.50 

3.80 

7.60 

5-75 

Laporte,  Indiana 

18.50 

10.50 

10.30 

3.80 

6.50 

5 

A  The  horizontal  circumference  in  the  plane  of  a  line  joining  the  glabella 
with  the  occipital  protuberance. 

B  The  longitudinal  arc  from  the  nasal  depression  along  the  middle  line 
of  the  skull  to  the  occipital  tuberosity. 

C  From  the  level  of  the  glabello-occipital  line  on  each  side,  across  the 
middle  of  the  sagittal  suture  to  the  same  point  on  the  opposite  side. 

D  The  vertical  height  from  the  glabello-occipital  line. 

E  The  extreme  longitudinal  measurement. 

F  The  extreme  transverse  measurement. 

Note. —  Professor  Jeffreys  Wyman,  Curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of 
American  Archaeology,  in  his  “  Fourth  Annual  Report”  (1871),  which  has 
fallen  under  my  notice  since  the  text  of  this  chapter  has  been  prepared, 
thus  speaks  of  the  collection  of  Mound-crania  from  Kentucky,  made  by 
the  late  S.  S.  Lyon,  under  the  joint  patronage  of  that  Museum  and  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  ; 

“A  comparison  of  these  crania  with  those  of  the  other  and  later 
Indians,  shows  that  they  have  certain  marked  peculiarities,  though  these 
are  better  appreciated  when  the  two  kinds  are  placed  side  by  side,  than 
from  any  tables  of  measurement  or  verbal  descriptions. 

“  The  twenty-four  crania  measured,  show  a  mean  capacity  of  1313 
centimmes,  which  is  greater  than  that  of  the  Peruvians,  but  less  than  that 
of  the  North  American  Indians  generally  (viz;  1376  c.  c.,  or  84  cubic 
inches).  They  differ,  also,  from  those  of  the  ordinary  Indians  in  being 
lighter,  less  massive,  and  in  having  the  rough  surface  on  the  muscular 
attachments  less  strongly-marked.  The  top  of  the  head  shows  a  moder¬ 
ately  angular  or  roof-shaped  arrangement  of  the  parietal  bones,  and  the 
sides  are  vertical.  In  proportions,  they  present  very  considerable  variations 


FLATTENED  TIBI^. 


309 


amongst  themselves,  Assuming  the  length  of  the  skulls  to  be  i.ooo,  the 
breadth  ranges  from  0,712  to  0,950  of  the  length.  The  average  propor¬ 
tion  IS  0,857,  which  places  them  in  the  short-headed  group.  This  result 
is  influenced,  but  not  to  any  great  extent,  by  the  fact  that  the  crania  have 
been  somewhat  distorted  by  a  flattening  of  the  occiput.  In  the  majority, 
this  flattening  is  very  slight,  and  is  indicated  by  a  nearly  plane  surface 
just  above  the  protuberance,  and  which  would  not  materially  diminish 
the  length  of  the  skull.  The  position  of  the  foramen  magnum  is  quite 
far  back.  We  have  shown  elsewhere,  that  in  the  North  American  Indians 
generally  it  is  further  back  than  in  the  Negro  and  other  races  with  which 
they  have  been  compared.  In  the  Mound-crania  the  distance  of  the 
anterior  edge  of  the  foramen  magnum  from  the  occiput,  is  only  0,372  the 
long  diameter  of  the  skull.  This  position  can  be  only  partially  due  to 
distortion,  since  in  three  skulls,  in  which  the  foramen  was  farthest  back, 
the  occiput  was  not  in  the  least  flattened," 

The  flattening  of  the  tibiae  has  been  found  to  prevail  among  the 
skeletons  belonging  to  the  pre-historic  nations  of  the  Old  World,  pre¬ 
senting  in  this  respect  a  resemblance  to  the  corresponding  bones  of  the 
ape.  Dr.  Wyman  recognizes  this  peculiarity  in  a  large  series  of  bones 
obtained  from  the  mounds  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Michigan, and 
from  the  shell-heaps  of  Florida.  He,  hqwever,  remarks  that  "  this  can 
hardly  be  considered  a  race  character,  since  it  is  found  in  only  about  one- 
third  of  all  the  individuals  observed.”  (Fourth  Annual  Report,  pp.  21,  22.) 

Dr.  H.  F.  Harper  recognized  the  same  peculiarity  in  the  skeletons 
recovered  from  the  mounds  of  Merom,  Indiana.  He  remarks :  “  I  have 
six  tibiae  in  my  possession  which  were  taken  from  a  mound,  besides  the 
fragments  sent  you,  which  were  the  most  flattened  of  any.  By  measure¬ 
ment,  all  have  a  transverse  diameter  of  from  ten  to  fifty  per  cent,  less 
than  the  antero-posterior,  while  the  extremities  are  enlarged  transversely, 
as  in  our  race.  Two  of  the  six  are  shorter  and  heavier  than  the  others, 
and  are  curved  anteriorly  and  full  half  an  inch  or  more  out  of  line.  These 
two  have  also  a  transverse  diameter  almost  equal  to  the  antero-posterior 
one.”  (Private  Memoranda.) 


CHAPTER  IX» 


MAliNEES  AKD  CUSTOMS  AS  THE  BASIS  OE  ETHKIC 
RELATIONS. 

O  undertake  to  trace  ethnic  relations  between 


A  widely  separated  peoples,  by  similarity  of  man¬ 
ners  and  customs,  is  an  uncertain  guide.  Man,  apart 
from  his  improvable  reason,  has  what  we  call,  in  the 
higher  animals,  instinct ;  and  as  the  beaver  everywhere 
constructs  his  dam  according  to  a  definite  plan,  so  will 
man  perform  certain  acts  instinctively,  after  a  certain 
manner.  Hence,  among  barbarous  nations,  we  may 
expect  to  find  a  similarity  of  manners  and  customs, 
without  necessarily  supposing  that  they  are  the  result 
of  inheritance  ;  but  when  we  come  to  the  higher  mani¬ 
festations  of  art,  the  result  of  improvable  reason,  there 
are  found  certain  characters  original  and  unique,  which 
become  infallible  guides  in  tracing  national  affinities. 

In  this  chapter  I  propose  to  inquire  how  far  similarity 
of  customs,  such  as  sacred  observances,  funeral  cere¬ 
monies,  consecrated  offerings,  uniformity  of  weapons, 
linguistic  expressions,  craniological  types,  civilization 
as  manifested  in  art,  the  domestication  of  animals  and 
plants,  etc.,  may  be  employed  in  establishing  ethnic 
relations  between  the  peoples  of  the  two  hemispheres, 
and  in  tracing  back  their  origin  to  a  common  fountain 


of  life. 


310 


SUN-WOKSHIP. 


311 


With  regard  to  the  manners  and  customs  of  that 
mysterious  people,  the  Mound-builders,  the  past  is  not 
altogether  speechless.  Enough  of  their  monuments 
survive  to  enable  us  to  form  an  intelligible  opinion  as 
to  their  architecture,  their  system  of  defense,  their  pro¬ 
ficiency  in  art,  their  habits  and  pursuits,  their  religious 
observances,  and  the  routes  of  their  migrations. 

Sacred  observances  have  prevailed  among  every 
branch  of  the  human  family,  from  the  earliest  historical 
period,  and,  in  fact,  such  customs  can  be  traced  back  to 
the  pre-historic  peoples.  Few  tribes  have  been  found 
so  far  degraded  as  not'  to  have  some  vague  ideas  of  an 
Overruling  Power ;  few  that  believed  that  death  was 
utter  annihilation.  The  cultivated  man  rises  to  the  con¬ 
ception  of  a  purely  Spiritual  Essence,  but  the  savage 
must  embody  that  Power  in  some  visible  object.*  As 
the  sun  is  the  most  striking  object  in  nature,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  he  should  have  been  worshipped  by  rude 
tribes  in  all  ages  as  the  Visible  Deity. 

Sun-worship,  practised  by  the  ancient  inhabitants 
of  Central  America,  Mexico,  by  the  Natchez  Indians, 
and  undoubtedly  by  the  Mound-builders,  can  be  traced 
back  to  the  remotest  antiquity.  According  to  Rawlinson, 
it  was  the  religion  of  the  Scythic  tribes,  who  thickly 
spread  themselves,  in  ancient  times,  over  the  whole 
extent  of  Western  Asia.  It  crept  into  the  religion  of 
the  Persians  some  time  after  their  great  migration  to  the 
West.  Zoroaster,  whose  name  is  closely  associated  with 
primitive  Magism,  is  represented  by  various  writers  as 
an  early  Bactrian  or  Scythic  king.  The  Sun-God  was 
probably  one  of  the  earliest  objects  of  Babylonian  wor¬ 
ship,  and  was  personified  in  the  Apollo  of  Grecian 

*  “  The  God  of  the  savages  was  what  the  metaphysicians  endeavored 
to  express  in  the  word  substance.”  (Bancroft.) 


312 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


mythology.  To  him  were  applied  sueh  epithets  as 
“  The  Great  Mover,’’  “The  Regent  of  the  Heavens  and 
Earth,”  and  “  He  who  sets  everything  in  motion.”*  In 
the  later  period  of  the  Roman  Empire,  even,  the  sun 
was  worshipped  at  Emesa,  under  the  name  of  Elaga- 
balus,  and  typified  in  the  form  of  a  black  conical  stone, 
wdiich  it  was  believed  had  fallen  from  heaven.  Con¬ 
stantine,  before  his  conversion  to  Christianity,  paid  his 
devotions  to  the  genius  of  the  sun,  and  crowned  his 
altars  with  votive  offerings.  Julian,  after  his  apostasy, 
dedicated  a  domestic  chapel  to  his  tutelar  deity,  the 
sun,  and  every  morning  saluted  the  parent  of  light  with 
a  sacrifice,  and  another  victim  was  offered  the  very 
moment  when  he  sank  below  the  western  horizon. f 

It  is  not  strange,  then,  that,  in  primitive  times,  men, 
in  recognizing  the  manifest  agency  of  the  great  lumin¬ 
ary  in  stimulating  the  powers  of  nature,  should  be 
disposed  to  recognize  that  agency  as  extending  to 
human  affairs,  and  therefore  bow  in  adoration  at  his 
rising  and  setting. 

Burial  with  the  deceased  of  those  articles  which  were 
the  most  useful  or  most  highly-prized  by  them  while 
living,  seems  to  have  prevailed,  at  one  time  or  another, 
among  nearly  every  nation.  It  clearly  shows  that  even 
the  rudest  tribes  have  certain  definite  ideas  as  to  the 
immortality  of  the  soul, —  of  a  continued  state  of  exist¬ 
ence,  on  which  the  spirit  enters  through  the  portal  of 
the  grave.  The  burial  cave  of  Aurignac,  France,  as 
has  been  shown,  contained  human  remains  which  are 
regarded  as  of  the  highest  antiquity ;  yet  here  we 
meet  with  the  evidences  of  funeral  feasts,  and  of  offer¬ 
ings  consecrated  to  the  dead. 

*  Rawlinson’s  Herodotus,"  vol.  i,  p.  341,  et  sequitur. 

•)•  Gibbon’s  “Decline  and  Fall,"  chap,  vi,  passim. 


FUKEKAL  OFFERINGS. 


313 


Offerings  were  placed  in  the  grave  of  the  Mound- 
builder, — urns,  supposed  to  have  contained  food,  water- 
jugs,  statuettes,  j)ipes,  beads,  and  other  ornaments,  that 
the  spirit  might  be  presentable  on  his  introduction  to  a 
new  sphere  of  existence. 

The  Indian  is  buried  with  his  bow  and  arrows,  his 
war-paint,  his  moccasins  and  other  trappings,  that  he 
may  be  prepared  at  once  to  enter  upon  his  favorite  pur¬ 
suits  in  the  shadowy  land  ;  and,  day  after  day,  the 
choicest  viands  are  placed  at  the  head  of  his  grave, 
that  his  spirit  may  not  flag. 

An  American  poet  (Philip  Freneau)  has  embodied 
this  supposed  shadowy  existence  in  the  following  lines  : 

“  By  midnight  moons  o’er  moistening  dews, 

In  vestments  for  the  chase  arrayed, 

The  hunter  still  the  deer  pursues. 

The  hunter  and  the  deer  a  shade.*  ” 

Schiller,  too,  has  commemorated  this  custom  in  the 
beautiful  lines  beginning  “  Bringet  her  die  letzten 
Gaben,”  which  have  been  truthfully  rendered  by  Sir 
E.  L.  Bulwer :  f 

“  Here  bring  the  last  gifts  ! —  and  with  these 
The  last  lament  be  said  : 

Let  all  that  pleased  and  yet  may  please. 

Be  buried  with  the  dead. 

“  Beneath  his  head  the  hatchet  hide. 

That  he  so  stoutly  swung. 

And  place  the  bear’s  fat  haunch  beside  — 

The  journey  hence  is  long  ! 

“  And  let  the  knife  new-sharpened  be. 

That  on  the  battle-day 

Shore  with  quick  strokes  —  he  took  but  three  — 

The  foeman’s  scalp  away. 

*  Quoted  by  Bancroft,  “  History  of  the  United  States,”  chap.  23. 

+  Quoted  by  Lycll.  “  Antiquity  of  Man,”p.  i8g. 


314 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


“  The  paints  that  warriors  love  to  use, 

Place  here  within  his  hand, 

That  he  may  shine  with  ruddy  hues 
Amidst  the  spirit-land.” 

The  Aryan  of  the  Vedas  burns  the  priestly  sacri¬ 
ficial  implements  with  the  dead  man’s  body,  for  his  use 
in  the  next  world.  The  Mound-builders  practised  the 
same  usage.  The  Chinese  provides  his  dead  ancestor 
with  food,  clothing,  and  money,  but  with  the  thieving 
propensity  characteristic  of  his  race,  he  contrives  to 
palm  off  on  the  defunct  a  pasteboard  coin,  covered  with 
silvergilt  leaf.  He  prepares,  with  pious  care,  a  feast  of 
souls,  but  if,  after  waiting  a  reasonable  time,  the 
invited  ghosts  fail  to  arrive,  he  and  his  friends  fall  to 
and  eat  it.  The  Indian,  more  scrupulous,  holds  his  fes¬ 
tivals  in  honor  of  the  dead,  when  part  of  the  food  is 
given  to  the  flames,  that  the  hunger  of  his  ancestors 
may  be  appeased. 

Ovid  sings  how  these  offerings  of  food  in  ruder  times, 
had,  in  his  day,  become  merged  in  an  affectionate, 
sentimental  ceremony : 

Parva  petunt  manes  —  pietas  pro  divite  grata  est 
Munere.  Non  avidos  Styx  habet  ima  deos. 

Slight  are  the  gifts  demanded  by  the  dead, 

The  pious  thought  subserves  as  well  instead. 

For  Styx  contains  no  greedy  gods. 

The  early  Christians  kept  up  the  usage  of  burying 
ornaments  with  the  dead,  and  putting  the  playthings  of 
the  child  in  its  grave,  just  as  the  Indian  mother  does  at 
this  day, 

“  When  we  see  a  wreath  of  everlastings,”  says  Mr. 
Taylor,  “  laid  upon  the  tomb,  or  a  nosegay  of  fresh 
flowers  thrown  into  an  open  grave,  a  full  knowledge  of 
the  history  of  funeral  offerings  seems  to  justify  us 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES. 


315 


in  believing  what  we  should  hardly  have  guessed  with¬ 
out  it,  that  even  here  we  see  a  relic  of  the  thoughts  of 
the  rudest  savages  who  claim  a  common  humanity  with 
us,  a  funeral  offering  vastly  changed  in  signification, 
but  nowhere  broken  in  historic  sequence.”* 

Human  sacrifices. — Akin  to  this  usage  was  that  of 
sacrificing  human  beings  as  well  as  animals  at  the  shrines 
of  the  dead.  This  usage,  it  is  inferred  from  the  charred 
human  bones,  prevailed  among  the  Mound-builders,  and 
also,  as  we  have  seen,  in  Mexico  and  Central  America. 

Among  the  ancient  Scythians,  when  a  king  died,  in 
the  open  space  around  the  body,  were  buried  one  of  his 
concubines,  his  cook,  lacquey,  cup-bearer,  messenger, 
etc.,  they  having  been  previously  strangled,  together 
with  some  of  his  horses,  and  the  firstlings  of  all  his 
other  possessions.  After  the  lapse  of  a  year,  fifty  of 
the  deceased  king’s  attendants  were  strangled,  together 
with  fifty  of  the  most  beautiful  horses.  The  horses  were 
disembowelled  and  stuffed  with  chaff,  and  then 
mounted,  all  bitted  and  bridled,  upon  strong  stakes. 
The  fifty  strangled  youths,  having  undergone  a  similar 
manipulation,  were  mounted  on  the  horses,  and  were 
thus  ranged  round  the  tomb  and  left,  presenting  a 
ghastly  spectacle.! 

The  Thracian  custom,  according  to  the  same  author¬ 
ity,  was  this :  “  Each  man  among  them  has  several 

wives,  and  no  sooner  does  a  man  die  than  a  sharp 
contest  ensues  among  the  wives  upon  the  question, 
which  of  them  all  the  husband  loved  most  tenderly. 


*  Edward  Bennett  Taylor,  “  On  traces  of  the  early  mental  condition 
of  Man.”  (Proceedings  Royal  Institute,  Great  Britain,  republished  in 
Smithsonian  Report,  1868).  I  acknowledge  myself  indebted  to  him  for 
many  of  the  historical  illustrations  here  brought  together, 
f  Vide  “  Herodotus,"  book  iv,  chap.  72. 


316 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


The  friends  of  each  largely  plead  on  her  behalf,  and  she 
to  whom  the  honor  is  adjudged,  after  receiving  the 
praises  of  both  men  and  women,  is  slain  over  the  grave 
by  the  hand  of  her  next  of  kin,  and  then  buried  with 
her  husband.  The  others  are  sorely  grieved,  for  nothing 
is  considered  such  a  disgrace.”* 

The  chief  within  whose  domain  De  Soto  died,  is  said 
to  have  killed  two  young  men  to  wait  upon  him.  The 
burning  of  captives  at  the  stake  by  the  Indians  is  in  part 
the  result  of  a  religious  sentiment. 

During  the  Stone  Age  of  Great  Britain  it  is  inferred 
that  slaves  were  sacrificed  at  their  masters’  graves ;  .and 
it  is  not  improbable  that  wives  were  burnt  with  their 
husbands,  and  children  were  buried  with  their  mothers, 
—  a  dreadful  custom  which  prevails  at  this  day  among 
some  of  the  Esquimaux  families.  Among  the  Feegees 
it  is  usual,  on  the  death  of  a  chief,  to  sacrifice  a  certain 
number  of  slaves,  whose  bodies  are  called  “  grass  for 
bedding  the  grave.”  f  In  others  of  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  when  the  husband  dies,  the  wife  is  strangled, 
that  her  soul  may  accompany  his  to  the  spirit  land, 
there  to  catch  fish  and  cook  yams  for  him.  The  Hindoo 
widow  mounts  the  funeral  pyre,  that  liberated,  she 
may  perform  similar  menial  services  for  her  deceased 
lord. 

These  horrible  customs  are  all  founded  on  the  belief 
that  the  offerings  will  accompany  the  spirit  in  its  pass¬ 
age  to  the  other  world,  and  there  minister  to  its  com¬ 
forts  ;  and  it  is  evident  that  they  have  prevailed  in 
almost  every  country,  and  from  the  remotest  time.  “  A 
slight  acquaintance  with  the  spiritualism  of  the  savage,” 

*  Ibidem,  book  v,  chap.  4. 

f  Vide  citations  from  Bateman,  as  to  ancient  British  burials;  Williams 
as  to  the  Feegee  customs,  in  “  Pre-historic  Times,”  p.  171. 


SIMILARITY  OF  IMPLEMENTS. 


317 


remarks  Mr.  Taylor,*  “  has  sometimes  led  to  its  being 
considered  as  the  result  of  a  degeneration  from  the 
opinions  of  more  cultivated  races ;  hut  more  complete 
knowledge  of  the  facts  tends  to  show  that  such  an 
opinion  inverts  the  real  history  of  events.” 

Scalping  a  dead  enemy,  it  has  been  supposed,  was  a 
custom  peculiar  to  the  Indian  of  this  country,  but  it 
prevailed,  according  to  Herodotus,  among  the  aneient 
Scythians. 

“  The  Scythian  soldier,”  he  states,  “  drinks  the  blood 
of  the  first  man  he  overthrows  in  battle.  Whatever 
number  he  slays,  he  cuts  off  all  their  heads  and  carries 
them  to  the  king ;  since  he  is  thus  entitled  to  a  share 
of  the  booty,  where  he  forfeits  all  claim  if  he  does  not 
produce  a  head.  In  order  to  strip  the  skull  of  its 
covering,  he  makes  a  cut  round  the  head  near  the  ears, 
and  laying  hold  of  the  scalp,  shakes  the  skull  out;  then 
with  the  rib  of  an  ox  he  scrapes  the  scalp  clean  of  flesh, 
and  softening  it  by  rubbing  it  between  the  hands,  uses  it 
thenceforth  as  a  napkin.  The  Scyth  is  proud  of  these 
scalps,  and  hangs  them  from  his  bridle-rein  ;  the  greater 
number  of  such  napkins  that  a  man  can  show,  the  more 
highly  is  he  esteemed  among  them.”  t 

Flint  and  stone  implements^  which  attest  man’s  first 
attempts  to  subdue  nature,  present  such  marked 
resemblances  the  world  over,  that  generalizations  as 
to  ethnic  affinities,  drawn  from  this  source,  are  of  little 
value. 

“  It  is  now  a  generally  accepted  canon,’’  says  Mr. 
Westropp,  “that  there  are  common  instincts  implanted 
by  nature  in  all  the  varieties  of  the  human  race  which 
lead  mankind  in  certain  climates  and  at  certain  stages 

*  “  Traces  of  early  mental  condition,”  etc.,  before  referred  to. 

f  Book  iv,  chap.  64. 


318 


MANNEKS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


of  civilization,  to  do  the  same  thing  in  the  same  way, 
or  nearly  so,  without  teaching  or  without  previous  com¬ 
munication  with  those  who  have  done  so  before.  This 
has  been  remarkably  confirmed  in  the  analogous  and 
almost  identical  forms  of  flint  and  stone  implements 
found  all  over  the  world,  and  also  in  the  identity  of 
ornamentation,  such  as  the  zigzag,  guilloche,  etc., 
designed  independently,  by  races  the  most  widely 
apart.”  * 

The  best  material  to  be  employed,  and  the  shape  best 
adapted  to  produce  the  desired  result,  would  be  the 
offspring  of  experience,  and  not  of  inheritance. 

The  study  of  languages  affords  a  reliable  guide  in 
tracing  the  migrations  of  tribes,  even  where  they  have 
become  intermingled  Avith  other  tribes.  In  the  social 
relations  thus  established,  there  would  not  result  a  total 
obliteration  of  the  language  of  the  one  tribe,  but  cer¬ 
tain  words  and  forms  of  speech  would  be  adopted  and 
perpetuated.  “Nothing,”  saysBancroft,  “ is  so  indelible 
as  speech.  Sounds  that,  in  ages  of  unknown  antiquity, 
were  spoken  among  the  nations  of  Hindostan,  still  live 
in  their  significancy  in  the  language  which  we  daily 
utter.”  Palgrave  echoes  the  same  sentiment.  “Lan¬ 
guage  adheres  to  the  soil  when  the  lips  which  spoke  it 
are  resolved  into  dust.  Mountains  repeat,  and  rivers 
murmur  the  voices  of  nations  denationalized  or  extir¬ 
pated  in  their  own  land.” 

All  European  languages  can  be  traced  back  to  the 
Sanscrit  as  an  approximate  common  source  ;  but  the 
language  of  the  American  Indian  throws  no  light  upon 
his  origin,  except  that  that  origin  was  so  far  remote 
that  all  attempts,  by  this  clue,  to  establish  a  common 

*“  Journal  of  Ethnological  Society.’’  Quoted  in  “Nature,”  June  2, 
1869. 


AMERICAN  LANGUAGE. 


319 


centre  of  human  creation,  are  utterly  futile.  Gallatin, 
Duponceau,  and  others,  who  have  made  this  language 
the  subject  of  profound  study,  find  that  it  is  of  different 
branches,  traceable  perhaps  to  a  single  root,  but  primi¬ 
tive  in  its  character,  and  differing  radically  from  those 
of  other  continents.  According  to  Gallatin,  when  the 
vast  variety  of  dialects  came  to  be  compared,  there 
were  found,  east  of  the  Mississippi,  not  more  than  eight 
radically  distinct  languages,  of  which  five  still  constitute 
the  speech  of  powerful  communities,  and  three  belong 
to  tribes  that  have  almost  disappeared.  In  the  forms 
of  grammatical  structure  and  in  the  modes  of  associ¬ 
ating  and  of  expressing  ideas  without  regard  to  the 
meaning  of  particular  words,  the  Indian  tongues  would 
seem  to  be  the  result  of  the  instinctive  impulses  of  the 
human  mind  to  express  ideas  of  relation,  quality,  and 
action.  “No  theories  of  derivation  from  the  Old 
World,”  says  Hayden,  “  have  stood  the  test  of  gram¬ 
matical  construction.  All  traces  of  the  fugitive  tribes 
of  Israel,  supposed  to  be  found  here,  are  again  lost. 
Neither  Phoenicians,  nor  Hindoos,  nor  Chinese,  nor 
Scandinavians,  nor  Welsh  have  left  an  impress  of  their 
national  syntax  behind  them.  But  the  dialects  of  the 
people  of  the  Western  Continent,  radically  united 
among  themselves,  and  radically  distinguished  from  all 
others,  stand  in  hoary  brotherhood  by  the  side  of  the 
most  ancient  vocal  systems  of  the  human  race.”  *  As 
the  human  voice  articulates  not  more  than  twenty  dis¬ 
tinct  sounds,  whatever  resemblances  there  may  be  in 
the  particular  words  of  different  languages,  are  of  no 
ethnic  value,  but  it  is  upon  this  test  that  many  American 
writers  have  undertaken  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  Red 
man, 

*  Hayden,  “  Archaeology  of  the  United  States”  (Smithsonian  Contribu¬ 
tions),  p.  54. 


320 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


Mr.  Bancroft  has  given  an  elaborate  review  of  the 
dialects  of  America,  and  arrives  at  these  results ; 

“No  American  language  bears  marks  of  being  an 
arbitrary  aggregation  of  separate  parts  ;  but  each  is 
possessed  of  an  entire  organization,  having  unity  of 
character,  and  controlled  by  exact  rules.  Each  appears, 
not  as  a  slow  formation  by  painful  processes  of  inven¬ 
tion,  but  as  a  perfect  whole,  springing  directly  from  the 
powers  of  man.  A  savage  physiognomy  is  imprinted  on 
the  dialect  of  the  dweller  in  the  wilderness,  but  each 
dialect  is  still  not  only  free  from  confusion,  but  is  almost 
absolutely  free  from  irregularities,  and  is  pervaded  and 
governed  by  undeviating  laws.  .  .  .  Each  Ameri¬ 

can  language  was  competent  of  itself,  without  improve¬ 
ment  of  scholars,  to  exemplify  every  rule  of  the  logician, 
and  give  utterance  to  every  passion.  Each  dialect 
that  has  been  analyzed,  has  been  found  to  be  rich  in 
derivatives  and  compounds,  in  combinations  and  forms. 
.  .  .  Human  consciousness  and  human  speech  exist 

everywhere,  indissolubly  united.  A  tribe  has  no  more 
been  found  without  an  organized  language  than  without 
eyesight  or  memory.  .  .  . 

“  If  we  search  for  the  distinguishing  traits  of  our 
American  languages,  we  shall  find  the  synthic  charac¬ 
ter  pervading  them  all  and  establishing  the  rules.  The 
American  does  not  separate  the  component  parts  of  the 
proposition  he  utters ;  he  never  analyzes  his  expres¬ 
sions  ;  his  thoughts  rush  forth  in  a  troop.  The  picture 
is  presented  at  once  and  altogether. 

“  It  has  been  asked  if  our  Indians  were  not  the 
wrecks  of  more  civilized  nations.  Their  language 
refutes  the  hypothesis  ;  every  one  of  its  forms  is  a  wit¬ 
ness  that  their  ancestors  were,  like  themselves,  not  yet 
disenthralled  from  nature.”* 

^  “  History  of  the  United  States  ”vol.  iii.,  pp.  234,  235,  265. 


AMERICAN  LANGUAGE. 


321 


Mr.  Gallatin  thus  sums  up  his  conclusions  as  to  the 
character  of  the  American  languages  :  “  That  from  the 
Arctic  Ocean  to  Cape  Horn,  while  they  number  more 
than  one  hundred,  differing  in  their  vocabulary,  they 
have,  as  far  as  has  been  investigated,  a  distinct  charac¬ 
ter  common  to  all,  and  apparently  different  from  those 
of  the  other  continent  with  which  we  are  most  familiar  ; 
that  they  bear  the  impress  of  primitive  languages,  and 
assumed  their  form  from  natural  causes,  and  afford  no 
proof  of  their  being  derived  from  a  nation  in  a  more 
advanced  state  of  civilization,  and  that  they  attest  the 
antiquity  of  the  population,  —  an  antiquity  the  earliest 
we  are  permitted  to  assume.” 

The  high  antiquity  of  man,  which  has  since  been 
revealed  by  the  discoveries  of  the  geologist,  was  not 
dreamed  of  when  Mr.  Gallatin  wrote,  and  hence  he  felt 
it  necessary  to  express  no  opinions  “  inconsistent  with 
the  opinion  of  an  Asiatic  origin  and  with  the  received 
chronology.” 

To  account  for  the  radical  diversity  and  great  multi¬ 
plication  of  languages,  “  we  want  the  longest  time  we 
are  permitted  to  assume,”  and  therefore  he  infers  that 
this  continent  was  peopled  at  a  very  remote  epoch, 
“  probably  not  much  posterior  to  that  of  the  dispersion 
of  mankind.”  * 

Wliile  thus,  then,  the  Indian  spoken  language  has  all 
the  elements  of  a  primitive  character  and  of  a  high 
antiquity,  there  must  have  been  another  language,  the 
vehicle  of  more  exact  expression  and  of  more  refined 
ideas,  spoken  by  the  inhabitants  of  Central  America, 
which  has  become  irrevocably  lost.  A  people  who  can 
express  their  ideas  by  arbitrary  symbols  must  be  im¬ 
measurably  superior  to  a  people  who  use  a  notched 

*  See  synopsis  of  Mr.  Gallatin’s  views  in  H.ayden,  pp.  6i,  64. 

W 


322 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


stick  as  the  record  of  events,  or  trace  rude  figures  on 
the  smooth  bark  of  a  tree.  The  North  American  Indian 
has  never  advanced  beyond  mere  picture-writing  to  per¬ 
petuate  his  ideas.  He  takes  to  himself  a  name,  repre¬ 
sented  by  some  animate  or  inanimate  object  in  nature, 
which  he  can  grave  with  an  arrow-point  or  trace  with 
a  charred  bit  of  wood.  He  can  link  together  his  sym¬ 
bolical  devices  so  as  to  convey  to  some  extent  consecu¬ 
tive  ideas,  but  those  ideas  do  not  resolve  themselves 
into  words. 

The  Aztec  system  of  writing,  while  s3rmbolical,  was 
carried  to  a  higher  development,  and  separate  words 
were  indicated.  It  became  a  species  of  mnemonics, 
intelligible  only  to  the  initiated,  and  incapable  of  a 
literal  interpretation.  The  hieroglyphics  displayed 
upon  the  walls  of  Copan,  in  horizontal  or  perpendicular 
rows,  would  indicate  a  written  language  in  which  the 
pictorial  significance  had  largely  disappeared,  and  a 
kind  of  word-writing  had  become  predominant.  Inter¬ 
mingled  with  the  pictorial  devices  are  apparently  purely 
arbitrary  characters  which  may  be  alphabetic.  This, 
however,  may  be  said,  that  in  the  Central  American 
hieroglyphics  we  have  a  highly  artificial  system  of 
writing,  to  interpret  which  the  Aztec  picture-writing 
affords  no  aid. 

The  slight  resemblances  which  have  been  discovered 
between  the  roots  of  words  in  the  American  language 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  Hebrew  on  the  other,  and 
a  single  text  in  the  apocryphal  book  of  Esdras,  have 
been  the  foundation  of  a  belief  heretofore  quite  preva¬ 
lent  among  writers  upon  American  ethnology,  that  this 
continent  was  originally  peopled  b}^  the  lost  tribes  of 
Israel,  whose  descendants  were  to  be  recognized  in  the 
Red  man.  The  missionaries  Mayhew  and  Elliot  enter- 


THE  LOST  TRIBES  OF  ISRAEL. 


323 


tained.  this  belief ;  distinguished  theologians,  such  as 
Stiles,  Smith,  and  Bourdenot,  wrote  treatises  to  prove 
it ;  and  the  Jews  themselves  were  ready  to  recognize 
the  relationship.  Not  content  with  hypotheses  merely, 
some  of  these  works  contained  absurd  myths,  such  as 
that  a  messenger  from  the  “  Ten  Tribes  ”  had  appeared 
in  Palestine,  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the 
remnant  of  their  people  ;  and  that  another  adventurer 
had  found  a  community  of  Jews  in  Peru,  by  whom 
he  had  been  entertained  for  several  days,  and  that  this 
statement  had  been  sworn  to  before  “  Manasseh  Ben 
Israel,  the  chief  Rabbi,  at  Amsterdam.” 

It  is  hardly  necessary  at  this  day  to  advert  to  a  be¬ 
lief  which  was  profoundly  entertained  a  century  ago, 
except  as  an  evidence  of  the  progress  of  ethnological 
knowledge.  The  historian  of  the  United  States,  how¬ 
ever,  has  seen  proper  to  seriously  enter  upon  its  refuta¬ 
tion.  “It  is  chiefly  on  supposed  analogies  of  customs 
and  of  language  that  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  ‘  who 
took  counsel  together  to  go  forth  into  a  far  country, 
where  never  mankind  dwelt,’  have  been  discovered, 
now  in  the  bark  cabins  of  North  America,  now  in  the 
secluded  valleys  of  Tennessee,  and  again  as  the  authors 
of  culture  on  the  plains  of  the  Cordilleras.  We  cannot 
tell  the  origin  of  the  Goths  and  Celts  ;  proud  as  we  are 
of  our  lineage,  we  cannot  trace  our  own  descent ;  and 
we  strive  to  identify,  in  the  most  western  part  of  Asia, 
tlie  very  hills  and  valleys  among  which  the  ancestors 
of  our  Red  men  had  their  dwellings.  Humanity  has  a 
common  character.  The  ingenious  scholar  may  find 
analogies  in  language,  customs,  institutions,  and  reli¬ 
gions,  between  the  aborigines  of  America  and  any  na¬ 
tion  whatever  of  the  Old  W orld ;  the  pious  curiosity 
of  Christendom,  and  not  a  peculiar  coincidence,  has 


324 


MANjNEUS  and  customs. 


created  a  special  disposition  to  discover  a  connection 
between  them  and  the  Hebrews.  Inquirers  into  Jew¬ 
ish  history,  observing  faint  resemblances  between  their 
own  religious  faith,  have  sought  to  trace  the  origin  of 
common  ideas  to  tradition  from  the  same  nation  and  the 
same  sacred  books,  when  they  should  not  have  rested 
in  their  pursuit  of  a  common  source  till  they  had 
reached  the  Fountain  of  all  Knowledge  and  the  Author 
of  all  Being.”* 

The  form  of  the  skull  is  a  valuable  guide  in  tracing 
ethnic  relations.  That  of  the  American  Indian  has 
been  regarded  by  Morton  so  far  unique  as  to  justify 
him  in  making  the  following  emphatic  declaration : 

“  Our  own  conclusion,  long  ago  derived  from  a  patient 
examination  of  the  facts,  is,  that  the  American  race  is 
essentially  separate  and  peculiar,  whether  we  regard  it 
in  its  physical,  moral,  or  its  intellectual  relations.  To 
us  there  are  no  direct  or  obvious  links  between  the  Old 
World  or  the  New;  for,  even  admitting  the  seeming 
analogies  to  which  we  have  alluded,  these  are  so  few 
in  number,  and  evidently  so  casual,  as  not  to  invalidate 
the  main  position.  And  even  should  it  hereafter  be 
shown  that  the  arts,  sciences,  and  religion  of  America 
can  be  traced  to  an  exotic  source,  I  maintain  that  the 
organic  characters  of  the  people  themselves,  through 
all  their  endless  ramifications  of  tribes  and  nations, 
prove  them  to  belong  to  one  and  the  same  race,  and 
that  this  race  is  distinct  from  all  others.”! 

*  Vol.  iii,  pp.  2II,  212. 

f  “  Ethnology  and  Archaeology  of  American  Aborigines,”  p.  9. 
That  singular  race,  confined  to  the  Circumpolar  regions  of  both  hemi¬ 
spheres,  and  known  on  this  continent  as  Esquimaux,  and  on  the  other 
as  Lapps,  Morton  and  other  comparative  physiologists  regard  as  distinct 
from  the  North  American  Indian.  Retzius  classes  them  as  “  Prognathic 
Dolicocephali.”  The  Esquimaux,  since  known  to  the  white  man,  have 


INDIAN  TRIBES. 


325 


The  late  Anders  Retzius,  of  Stockholm,  who  has 
done  so  much  in  the  field  of  craniometry,  strongly  dis¬ 
sents  from  these  views.  “  It  is  scarcely  possible,”  he 
says,  “to  find  anywhere  a  more  distinct  distribution 
into  Dolicocephali  (long-heads)  and  BracJiycephali  (sliort- 
heads)  than  in  America.  From  all  that  T  have  lieen 
able  to  observe,  I  have  arrived  at  the  opinion  that  the 
dolicocephalic  form  prevails  in  the  Carib  Islands,  and 
in  the  whole  eastern  j^art  of  the  American  continent, 
from  the  extreme  northern  limits  to  Paraguay  and 
Uruguay  in  the  south;  while  the  brachycephalic  pre¬ 
vails  in  the  Kurile  Islands  and  on  the  Continent,  from 
the  latitude  of  Behring’s  Strait,  through  Oregon,  Mexi¬ 
co,  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia,  Chili,  the  Argentine  Repub¬ 
lic,  Patagonia,  to  Terra  del  Fuego. 

“  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Carib  race  was  the 
predominant  one,  not  only  in  the  Lesser  Antilles,  but 
on  the  neighboring  continent,  Avhere  we  now  find  Vene¬ 
zuela  and  Guiana,  and  all  the  Carib  skulls  which  I  have 
examined  are  dolicocephalic.” 

The  Indians  of  Brazil  he  assigns  to  the  “Tupi”  of 
the  Portuguese,  who,  farther  to  the  south,  received 
from  the  Spaniards  the  name  of  Guarani  ■ —  a  great 
race,  which,  according  to  Prichard,  “  is  spread  over 
the  whole  eastern  coast  of  South  America,  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river  La  Plata  to  the  Amazon.”  “The 


evinced  no  disposition  to  encroach  on  the  domain  of  the  neighboring 
Indians,  although  their  superiors  in  warfare.  “  They  are  truly,”  says  Sir 
John  Richardson,  “a  littoral  people,  neither  wandering  inland  nor  cross¬ 
ingwide  seas.”  (Arctic  Explorations,  p.  202.)  So,  too,  the  Lapps  on  the 
other  hemisphere,  have  never  shown  a  disposition  to  penetrate  to  Central 
Europe,  but  have  rather  retreated  before  the  advance  of  civilization. 
Thus,  with  no  formidable  physical  barrier  to  intercommunication  between 
the  two  hemispheres,  these  people  have  not  shown  a  disposition  to  seek, 
by  migration,  a  different  climate  from  that  in  which  they  were  born  and 
reared. 


326 


JVIANNEKS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


ancient  Peruvians^  of  Morton,”  says  Retzius,  “and  the 
Muanchas  of  M.  de  Tschudi,  are  also  Guarani.” 

The  skulls  of  this  race  are  dolicocephalic,  and  of 
much  capacity,  with  the  jaws  quite  large.  Towards 
the  north,  on  the  Atlantic,  he  recognizes  this  type  in 
the  Algonquins  and  Iroquois,  and  in  the  Cherokees  of 
the  Gulf  Coast. 

He  regards  the  Dolicocephali  of  America  as  nearly 
related  to  the  Guanches  of  the  Canary  Islands,  and  to 
the  Atlantic  populations  of  Africa  —  the  Moors,  Tu- 
aricks,  Copts,  etc.  “We  find,  then,  one  and  the  same 
form  of  skull  in  the  Canary  Islands  in  front  of  the 
African  Coast,  and  in  the  Carib  Islands  on  the  opposite 
coast  which  faces  Africa.  The  color  of  the  skin  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  is  represented  in  all  these 
populations  as  being  of  a  reddish  brown,  resembling 
somewhat  leather  tanned  brown  ;  the  hair  is  the  same ; 
the  features  of  the  face  and  build  of  the  frame,  as  I  am 
led  to  believe,  presenting  the  same  analogy.” 

The  Br  achy  cephalic  he  maintains,  are  found,  for  the 
most  part,  on  that  side  of  our  continent  which  looks 
towards  Asia  and  the  isles  of  the  Pacific,  and  they  seem 
to  be  related  to  the  Mongol  races  —  a  view  first  ex¬ 
pressed  by  Humboldt.  Some  of  these  Brachycephali 
possessed  a  high  degree  of  culture  at  the  period  of  the 
Spanish  Conquest.  The  Aztec  skulls  are  described  as 
being  remarkable  for  the  shortness  of  their  axis,  their 
large  flattened  occiput  obliquely  truncated  behind,  the 
height  of  the  semicircular  line  of  the  temples,  and  the 
shortness  and  trapezoidal  form  of  the  parietal  plane. 
They  present  an  elevation  or  ridge  along  the  sagittal 
suture ;  the  base  of  the  skull  is  very  short,  and  the  face 
slightly  prognathic,  as  among  the  Mongol-Kalmucs. 
They  bear  a  strong  analogy  to  the  skulls  of  Peruvian 
Brachycephali  delineated  by  Morton. 


DEFORMATION  OF  SKULL. 


327 


This  type  he  recognizes  in  the  following  tribes  which 
are  restricted  to  the  limits  of  the  United  States :  The 
Natchez,  Chetimanchees,  Creeks,  Seminoles,  Osages, 
and  Menomonees.  He  regards  the  skulls  figured  by 
Morton  from  mounds  in  Tennessee,  Ohio,  and  West 
Virginia  as  belonging  tP  this  type.* 

The  opinions  of  this  eminent  comparative  physiolo¬ 
gist  appear  to  be  conclusive  against  those  who  maintain 
the  unity  of  all  the  American  tribes ;  and  whilst  he  pays 
a  deserved  tribute  to  the  profound  researches  of  Mor¬ 
ton,  he  avows  that  “  this  remarkable  man  has  allowed 
the  views  of  the  naturalist  to  become  warped  by  his 
linguistic  researches.” 

The  artificial  deformation  of  the  shull,  at  the  time  of 
the  publication  of  Morton’s  work,  was  supposed  to  be 
a  usage  restricted  to  several  tribes  of  Indians  now 
living,  and  to  the  ancient  Peruvians  and  inhabitants  of 
Central  America ;  and  this  usage  has  been  cited  as  a 
strong  argument  to  show  the  filiation  between  the 
ancient  and  modern  inhabitants  of  this  continent ;  but 
Retzius  has  shown  that  this  pagan  custom  has  been 
referred  to  by  various  writers.  Oriental,  Greek,  and 
Roman.  In  1849,  M.  Rathke  stated  that  artificially- 
formed  skulls  had  been  found  near  Kertch,  in  the 
Crimea,  and  called  attention  to  certain  passages  in 
the  works  of  Hippocrates  and  Strabo,  overlooked  by 
medical  writers,  in  which  these  authors  speak  of  the 
practice  of  modifying  the  shape  of  the  head  by  means 
of  bandages,  as  being  in  use  among  the  macrocephalic 
(long-headed)  Scythians. 

In  1854,  Dr.  Fitzinger  published  a  memoir  on  the 

*  Retzius,  “  Present  state  of  Ethnology  in  relation  to  the  Form  of  the 
Skull.”  Translated  for  Smithsonian  Report,  i860,  p.  264,  et  seq.  See 
also  Wilson  (“  Pre-historic  Man,”  ch.  xxi). 


328 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


skulls  of  the  Avars,  a  branch  of  the  Uralian  Turks, 
and  pointed  out  that  ancient  authors  mentioned  this 
usage  as  having  prevailed  in  several  parts  of  the  Empire 
of  the  East,  and  at  the  same  time  described  an  ancient 
skull,  greatly  distorted  by  artificial  means,  -which  had 
been  found  in  Lower  Austria. 

In  1854,  Retzius  received  from  M.  Troyan,  of  Switzer¬ 
land,  two  skulls  of  ancient  date,  artificially  compressed, 
derived  from  that  region,  which  he  described  in  a  report 
to  the  Academy  of  Stockholm.  He,  also,  showed  that 
this  custom  still  prevails  in  the  South  of  France,  and 
from  a  passage  in  Vesalius,  he  was  led  to  believe  that 
it  exists  also  in  various  parts  of  Turkey. 

“  Among  the  greater  part  of  them,”  he  concludes, 
“  the  compression  seems  to  have  been  effected  on  the 
occiput  with  a  view  of  rendering  it  flat  and  short. 
The  compression  of  the  top  of  the  head  among  the 
Indians  of  Oregon  (Flatheads)  has,  no  doubt,  sprung 
from  their  proximity  to  the  Esquimaux,  whose  heads 
are  full  and  large.  The  frontal  depression  among  the 
Huanchas  and  Caribs  seems  to  have  been  designed  to 
render  the  head  more  dolicocephalic,  and  was  exclu¬ 
sively  practised  by  the  DolicocephalV  * 

Thus,  then,  this  usage  becomes  of  little  value  in 
tracing  national  affinities. 

Civilization^  as  it  develops  itself  in  permanent  struct¬ 
ures  which  combine  elegance  of  form,  grace  of  outline, 
and  elaboration  of  ornament,  affords  the  means  of  deter¬ 
mining  how  far  it  is  the  result  of  inheritance,  and  how 
far  it  is  something  which  has  grown  out  of  the  conception 
of  the  artist.  As  in  the  human  face  there  are  distinct 

*  Retzius,  p.  269.  Dr.  Wilson  (“  Pre-historic  Man,”  chap,  xxi.)  has  also 
elaborately  discussed  this  question  and  accumulated  additional  authorities 
as  to  the  prevalence  of  this  usage. 


AMERICAN  CIVILIZATION. 


329 


types,  at  once  recognizable  by  the  practised  eye,  so 
in  the  various  civilizations,  as  manifest  in  art,  there  is 
something  inherent  in  it  and  created  with  it,  which  can 
never  be  confounded  with  pre-existing  forms.  There  is 
the  impress  of  genius,  original,  unique,  and  which 
stands  out  in  bold  relief. 

“  The  art  of  Egypt,”  says  Wilkinson,  “  was  of  native 
growth,  and  was  original  and  characteristic  ;  but  the 
Egyptians,  like  other  people,  borrowed  occasionally 
from  those  with  whom  they  had  early  intercourse.”  * 

The  pyramids,  the  sphynxes,  and  obelisks  are  not  to 
be  confounded  with  the  structures  of  any  other  civilized 
nation ;  and  what  is  remarkable,  none  of  these  monu¬ 
ments  have  a  rude  or  archiac  style. 

The  Assyrian  monuments,  also,  have  a  national  char¬ 
acter.  The  colossal  bulls,  lions,  and  winged  circles,  are 
characteristic  features,  and  the  bass-reliefs  wrought 
with  great  elaboration,  even  to  the  individual  hairs 
of  the  beard,  and  to  every  stitch  in  the  embroidery 
of  the  dress,  find  no  counterpart  in  the  art  of  other 
peoide. 

The  grace  of  outline  and  correctness  of  detail  which 
are  so  inimitably  displayed  in  Grecian  art,  form  a  broad 
contrast  to  the  stiff  and  spiritless  delineations  of  the 
human  figure,  seen  on  the  Egyptian  tombs. 

In  the  ruins  of  Central  America  we  have  the  most 
elaborate  forms  of  sculpture  adorning  the  altars,  idols, 
and  temples.  “  It  is  the  spectacle,”  says  Stevens,  “  of 
a  people  skilled  in  architecture,  sculpture,  and  drawing, 
and  beyond  doubt,  other  more  perishable  arts,  and  pos¬ 
sessing  the  cultivation  and  refinement  attendant  upon 
these,  and  not  derived  from  the  Old  World,  but  origi¬ 
nating  and  growing  up  here  without  models  or  masters, 

*  Note  on  “  Herodotus,”  book  ii,  chap.  155. 


330 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


having  a  distinct,  separate,  independent  existence,  like 
the  plants  and  fruits  of  the  soil,  indigenous.”  * 

In  reference  to  the  architecture  of  the  “  House  of  the 
Governor,”  at  Uxmal,  he  further  observes :  “  There  is  no 
rudeness  or  barbarity  in  the  design  or  proportions.  On 
the  contrary,  the  whole  wears  an  air  of  architectural 
symmetry  and  grandeur.  .  .  .  If  it  stood  at  this 

day,  on  its  great  artificial  terraces  in  Hyde  Park  or  the 
garden  of  the  Tuileries,  it  would  form  a  new  order ;  I 
do  not  say  equalling,  but  not  unworthy  to  stand  side  by 
side  with  the  remains  of  Egyptian,  Grecian,  and  Roman 
art.”  t 

In  the  platform  mounds  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  we 
have  the  rude  or  archiac  type  which  subsequently  cul¬ 
minated  in  forms  of  beauty,  as  seen  in  the  foundations 
of  the  temples  of  Central  America. 

We  seek,  then,  in  vain  for  any  analogies  in  art  which 
would  connect  the  civilization  of  this  country  with  that 
of  the  Old  World.  That  art  was  not  derived  from  a 
remote  source  ;  it  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  people  dom¬ 
esticated  to  the  soil.  These  artists,  by  copying  nature, 
have  left  behind  a  series  of  figures  in  graceful  attitudes, 
and  with  a  finish  of  execution,  which  command  the 
admiration  of  every  beholder. 

In  the  arts,  at  this  day,  two  methods  are  employed  to 
produce  the  desired  result:  1,  Manipulation — strictly 
handicraft ;  and  2,  Machinery,  in  which  the  forces  of 
nature  are  made  available.  In  the  former  process,  it 
may  be  said,  we  have  not  surpassed  the  ancients ;  in  fact, 
their  works  in  sculpture,  in  architecture,  in  clay,  and  in 
gem-cutting,  are  models  for  us, —  beautiful  in  design  and 
accurate  in  execution.  We  now  by  a  corruption  of 

*“  Incidents  of  Travel  in  Central  America,”  vol.  ii,  p.  311. 

t  Ibidem,  p.  429. 


mON  KKOWN  TO  ANCIENTS. 


331 


language  employ  the  word  manufactures — hand-made 
— to  designate  the  products  of  machinery  ;  and  it  is  in 
this  department  alone  that  we  display  our  immense 
superiority  over  our  ancestors.  As  to  the  relative  degree 
of  intellectual  development,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
mind  of  him  who  superintends  a  machine  which  turns 
off  certain  forms  with  a  precision  and  certainty  which 
are  unattainable  by  handicraft,  is  taxed  only  in  a  slight 
degree ;  and  he  whose  life-labor  has  been  restricted  to 
grinding  needles  to  a  point,  or  in  attaching  heads  to 
pins,  while  he  may  have  attained  the  highest  proficiency, 
dies  with  very  limited  conceptions  of  the  forces  of 
nature,  or  the  grandeur  of  the  universe.  He,  on  the 
other  hand,  who  devises  processes  in  a  particular  art, 
and  executes  them  with  his  own  hands,  while  he  may 
be  less  skillful  than  his  mechanical  competitor,  far  out¬ 
ranks  him  in  range  of  intellect.  Among  the  ancients,  we 
find  the  artist  and  artizan  combined,  and,  hence,  while 
we  may  surpass  them  in  mechanical  execution,  there  is 
a  fertility  of  design  which  we  have  failed  to  approach. 

In  comparing  the  ancient  civilizations  of  the  two 
hemispheres,  if  they  were  derived  from  a  common  origin, 
there  are  certain  arts  which,  it  would  seem,  when  once 
acquired,  would  never  be  permitted  to  lapse.  Take  for 
example  the  art  of  iron  smelting,  and  the  additional 
art  of  converting  the  product  into  steel.  How  manifold 
its  uses  and  applications !  Leaving  out  those  of  a 
modern  date,  which  are,  indeed,  the  most  wonderful, 
our  ancestors  at  the  dawn  of  the  Historic  Period  knew 
many  of  its  uses.  The  hoe,  the  axe,  the  plough,  the 
saw,  the  sword,  the  ship-bolt,  the  pruning  hook,  the 
needle,  the  chisel,  the  chain,  the  arrow  and  spear-head, 
and  the  anchor,  were  among  the  forms  into  which  it  was 
wrought.  What  a  tremendous  implement  was  placed 


332 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


in  the  hands  of  man  to  subdue  nature,  when  he  could 
wield  a  steel  axe  in  the  place  of  a  stone  hatchet !  With 
the  chisel,  the  refractory  block  of  stone  could  be  readily 
fashioned  into  ornamental  forms.  With  bolts,  galleys 
could  be  bound  together  so  firmly  as  to  withstand  the 
heaviest  seas,  and  the  sword  became  so  effective  an 
implement  of  warfare  that  it  has  been  retained  to  the 
present  day. 

Iron  was  known  to  the  principal  nations,  whose  man¬ 
ners  and  customs  have  been  described  by  Herodotus. 
Thus,  in  the  Egyptian  process  of  embalming,  we  are 
informed  that  the  embalmers  extracted  the  brain  through 
the  nostrils  with  “  a  crooked  piece  of  iron.”  The  blue 
color  of  the  swords  and  other  weapons  on  the  painted 
tombs  of  Thebes,  shows  that  they  employed  steel  as 
well  as  bronze.  Butchers,  too,  are  represented  as 
sharpening  their  knives  with  a  steel  attached  to  their 
aprons. 

Among  the  rude  Scythians,  we  are  informed  by  the 
same  authority,  that  the  worship  of  the  cimeter  pre¬ 
vailed,  which  consisted  in  planting  on  the  top  of  a 
mound  an  antique  iron  sword,  which  served  as  the 
image  of  Mars,  and  yearly  sacrifices  of  cattle  and  horses 
were  made  to  it. 

Iron  was  known  long  before  the  Trojan  war.  Hesiod, 
the  eldest  of  the  European  poets,  sings  of  it,  and  Homer 
uses  this  simile  in  reference  to  the  plucking  out  of 
Polyphemus’s  eye :  “  As  when  a  brazier  dips  a  large 
hatchet  or  axe  in  cold  water,  greatly-sounding,  temper¬ 
ing  it, /or  this  is  the  strength  of  steely  so  his  eye  hissed.”  * 

The  allusions  to  iron  in  the  early  Scriptures  are 
frequent.  Tubal -Cain,  we  are  informed,  was  “an 
instructor  of  every  artificer  in  a  knowledge  of  brass 

*  “  Odyssey,”  ix,  line  390,  et.  seq. 


IKON  UNKNOWN  IN  AMERICA. 


333 


andiron.”  Egypt  is  likened  to  the  “iron  furnace.”* * * § 

Og,  king  of  Bashan,  had  an  iron  bedstead,  f  Job 
informs  us  that  “  Iron  is  taken  out  of  the  earth,  and 
brass  is  molten  out  of  the  stone.”  J  The  Phoenicians 
knew  its  uses,  and  it  was  employed  in  tools  for  building 
Solomon’s  temple. 

The  use  of  iron,  then,  by  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
Old  World  reaches  back  to  the  Historic  Era. 

No  implement  of  iron  has  been  found  in  connection 
with  the  ancient  civilizations  of  America.  The  Mound- 
builders,  as  we  have  seen,  wrought  as  a  stone,  the  rich 
specular  ores  of  Missouri,  into  various  instruments 
which  they  ground  and  polished  with  elaborate  care, 
little  conscious  that  the  same  material,  subjected  to  a 
high  heat,  could  be  cast  into  any  required  form,  and 
converted  into  much  more  efficient  weapons. 

“Iron  abounds  in  Mexico,”  according  to  Mr.  Tylor,y  - 

“  not  only  in  the  state  of  ore,  but  nearly  pure  in  aerolites  '  ' 

of  great  size,  as  at  Cholula  and  at  Zacatecas,  so  that 
ignorance  of  its  qualities  alone  could  have  led  to  the 
neglect  of  this  useful  metal  by  the  Mexicans.  Not  far 
from  Huetamo,  on  the  road  towards  the  Pacific,  there 
is  a  conical  hill  composed  entirely  of  magnetic  u’on  ore. 

It  is  so  easily  wrought  that  the  blacksmiths  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood,  with  no  other  apparatus  than  their  common 
forges,  make  it  directly  into  wrought  iron,  which  they 
use  for  all  ordinary  purposes.”  § 

From  these  facts  the  inference  is  inevitable  that  if 
this  continent  was  peopled  by  migrations  from  the  Old 
World,  it  must  have  been  at  a  period  far  remote,  and 

*  “  Deutronomy,”  iv,  20. 

t  Ibidem,  iii,  ii. 

I  “  Job,”  xxviii,  2. 

§  E.  B.  Tylor,  “  Anahuac,”  p.  102. 


334 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


at  a  time  when  mankind  was  unacquainted  with  the 
use  of  iron. 

An  argument  equally  apposite  and  forcible  might 
be  drawn  from  the  absence  of  those  domesticated  ani¬ 
mals  and  plants  which  constitute  the  visible  wealth  of 
a  nomadic  people.  The  Scyths  of  Herodotus  have  dis¬ 
appeared  from  the  face  of  Europe,  and  many  have  sup¬ 
posed  that  they  found  a  refuge  in  America.  They  cer¬ 
tainly  had  many  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  the 
Indian  of  the  plains.  They  were  indifferent  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  spurned  the  restraints  of  a 
sedentary  life.  Their  houses  were  movable  huts,  which 
sheltered  promiscuously  the  youth  of  both  sexes. 
Their  wanderings  were  regulated  by  the  seasons.  On 
the  approach  of  summer  they  moved,  with  their  flocks 
and  herds,  to  the  north,  and  camped  beside  some  clear- 
running  stream  ;  but  as  winter  approached,  they  retired 
south,  and  sought  shelter  behind  some  bluff  which 
overhangs  the  Volga  or  the  Borysthenes.  They  were 
bold  and  skillful  riders,  and  it  was  supposed  by 
strangers  that  they  ate  and  drank,  and  even  slept, 
without  dismounting  from  their  steeds.  They  formed 
a  sort  of  movable  camp,  in  which  family  and  property 
were  always  included.  They  were  fond  of  rapine,  and 
were  the  only  nation  of  whom  we  read  who  scalped 
their  victims.  With  such  habits,  and  with  such  slight 
attachments  to  the  soil,  they  were  always  in  a  condition 
to  emigrate,  the  only  motive  being  the  improvement  of 
their  condition.*  But  would  they  voluntarily  move 
through  the  vast  and  desolate  region  of  Siberia  to 
Behring’s  Strait,  abandoning  their  flocks  and  herds, 
which  furnished  them  with  an  unfailing  supply  of  food, 

*  As  to  the  character  of  the  ancient  Scyths,  consult  Gibbon,  “  Decline 
and  Fall,”  vol.  iii.  p.  4,  et  seq. 


PEE.1VIANENCB  OF  TYPE. 


335 


and  cheir  ][iorses,  whicli  enabled  them  to  accomplish  the 
most  distant  marches  ?  The  dog,  too,  from  the  time  we 
first  detect  his  existence,  indicated  by  the  presence  of 
his  bones  in  the  shell-heaps  of  Denmark,  to  the  present 
day,  has  been  the  attendant  on  the  European  in  all  his 
migrations.  He  can  brave  all  climates,  and  to  the  wan¬ 
dering  tribes  he  becomes  not  simply  a  companion,  but 
a  useful  ally.  In  the  hyperborean  regions  his  services 
are  invaluable. 

The  entire  absence  of  all  the  domesticated  animals 
in  North  America,  when  first  known  to  the  white  man, 
and  of  the  domesticated  cereals  of  the  Old  World, 
would  lead  to  the  inference  that  if  this  continent  was 
peopled  from  Asia,  it  must  have  been  at  a  period  far 
more  remote  than  is  embraced  in  the  received  chro¬ 
nology,  and  when  society  was  in  a  purely  hunter  state. 

Causes  which  lead  to  permanence  of  type. — Gibbon 
has  appositely  remarked  that  “  the  savage  tribes  of 
mankind,  as  they  approach  nearer  to  the  condition  of 
animals,  preserve  a  stronger  resemblance  to  themselves 
and  to  each  other.  The  uniform  stability  of  their  man¬ 
ners  is  the  natural  consequence  of  the  imperfection  of 
their  faculties.  Reduced  to  a  similar  situation,  their 
wants,  their  desires,  their  enjoyments,  still  continue  the 
same  ;  and  the  influence  of  food  or  climate,  which  in 
a  more  improved  state  of  society  is  suspended  or  sub¬ 
dued  by  so  many  moral  causes,  most  powerfully  con¬ 
tributes  to  form  and  to  maintain  the  national  character 
of  barbarians.”* 

Ruskin  has  reproduced  the  same  observation.  “  Na¬ 
tions  in  the  savage,  like  animals  in  the  wild,  state  are 
devoid  of  any  striking  individual  differences.  Where 
the  life  is  the  same  for  all,  and  no  variety  of  external  in- 

*  “  Decline  and  Fall,”  vol.  iii.  ch.  26. 


336 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


fluences  calls  forth  various  powers  and  qualities  in  the 
sentient  being,  a  sameness  pervades  the  class.”*  Ne¬ 
groes,  Caffres,  Esquimaux,  North  American  Indians, 
Calmucks,  Chinese,  Bushmen,  have  this  peculiarity  in 
common,  and  even  among  the  Arabs  of  the  Desert,  a 
far  higher  type  of  humanity,  this  fact  holds  good.  “  I 
was  now,”  says  the  author  of  Ebthen,  “  amongst  the 
true  Bedouins;  almost  every  man  of  his  race  resembles 
his  brethren.” 

Carl  Vogt  has  remarked:  “There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  as  man  approaches  more  nearly  in  bodily  conforma¬ 
tion  to  the  animal,  and  especially  his  nearest  relative, 
the  ape,  the  lower  his  stage  of  culture.  As  times  go 
on,  these  characteristics  gradually  vanish  ;  the  forehead 
becomes  more  upright,  the  skull  higher  and  more  dome¬ 
shaped,  and  the  projecting  countenance  gradually  re¬ 
cedes  under  the  skull.  These  changes  are  the  result 
of  man’s  conflict  with  his  circumstances,  and  to  the 
mental  labor  which  that  conflict  entails.”! 

The  Negroid  type  is  believed  by  many  to  be  the  prim¬ 
itive  type  of  mankind,  and  has  remained  constant  to 
this  day ;  while  the  Caucasian  type  is  the  result  of  a 
more  improved  state  of  society,  and  of  more  favorable 
external  influences.  This  question  of  type  will  be  dis¬ 
cussed  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

From  this  hasty  review  of  the  languages,  civilizations, 
manners  and  customs,  and  cerebral  types  of  the  peoples 
of  the  two  hemispheres,  it  would  appear  that  there  are 
no  sufficiently  discriminating  features  for  establishing 
ethnic  relations  between  them.  Every  region  of  the 
earth,  fitted  to  sustain  human  life,  when  first  known  to 
the  European  explorer,  was  found  to  be  inhabited ; — the 

*  “  Modern  Painters,”  vol.  ii,  p.  io6. 

+  “  Report  to  Congress  of  German  Naturalists.” 


FIKST  OKIGIN  OF  MAN. 


337 


entire  extent  of  North  and  South  America,  Australia, 
New  Zealand,  and  the  isles  of  the  Pacific ;  and  the 
occupancy  of  these  regions  dated  so  far  back  as  to  de¬ 
velop  in  the  inhabitants,  under  the  operation  of  certain 
laws,  but  imperfectly  understood,  distinctive  traits  of 
national  character. 

The  primitive  condition  of  these  people,  for  the  most 
part,  was  that  of  barbarians,  but  in  a  few  instances, 
under  favorable  conditions  of  natural  forces,  they  cul¬ 
tivated  the  arts,  and  developed  a  very  considerable 
degree  of  civilization. 

We  confess,  in  attempting  to  trace  the  career  of  man, 
that  there  are  no  continuous  streams  which  enable  us 
to  ascend  to  the  common  fountain  of  life.  The  ancestry 
even  of  the  most  intellectual  races,  when  traced  back 
for  a  few  thousand  years,  becomes  involved  in  a  Cim¬ 
merian  darkness.  Whence  sprang  the  Celt  or  the 
Teuton?  When  did  the  Negroid  type  assume  its  dis¬ 
tinctive  features,  and  by  what  influences  has  it  been 
perpetuated  ?  How  can  we  explain  the  primitive  and 
unique  character  of  American  language  ?  How  explain 
the  peopling  of  continents  and  the  isles  of  the  sea,  girt 
by  barren  waters  ?  In  vain  do  we  seek  in  the  old  civili¬ 
zations  for  any  connecting  links ;  in  vain  do  we  search 
the  languages  of  the  two  hemispheres  for  common  forms 
of  expression. 

“It  is  in  vain,”  says  William  Von  Humboldt,  “that 
we  direct  our  thoughts  to  the  solution  of  the  great 
problem  of  the  first  origin,  since  man  is  too  intimately 
associated  with  his  own  race,  and  with  relations  of 
time,  to  conceive  of  the  existence  of  an  individual  inde¬ 
pendently  of  a  preceding  generation  and  age.”* 

*  Quoted  in  “  Cosmos,"  vol.  i,  p.  365. 


X 


CHAPTER  X. 


WHO  WERE  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  ? 

INSTEAD  of  seeking  to  establish  ethnic  relations 
between  the  Mound-builders  and  any  of  the  races 
of  the  Old  World,  founded  on  the  apparent  similarity 
of  manners  and  customs,  I  would  look  rather  for  their 
origin  to  that  race  who,  in  times  far  remote,  flourished 
in  Brazil,  some  of  whose  crania  are  found  in  the  bone- 
caves  of  Minas  Geraes,  in  connection  with  mammalian 
bones  belonging  to  genera  and  species  now  extinct. 

These  crania,  as  has  been  shown,  were  characterized 
by  a  remarkable  deficiency  of  the  frontal  eminences, 
amounting  to  an  almost  entire  absence  of  the  forehead ; — 
a  type  which  we  find  delineated  on  the  monuments  of 
Mexico  and  Central  America,  and  which  is  seen  in  the 
crania  recovered  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  and 
the  banks  of  the  Wabash  and  Mississippi. 

If  we  examine  the  bass-reliefs  of  the  temples  of 
Palenque  and  the  altar-tablets  of  Copan,  as  dehneated 
by  Catherwood,  we  shall  find  that  all  the  figures  possess 
the  peculiarity  of  a  low  forehead,  the  prominence  of 
which  at  this  day  is  regarded  as  the  type  of  intellectual 
force.  These  sculptured  figures  are  not  caricatures, 
but  display  an  ability  on  the  part  of  the  artists  to 
represent  the  human  form  in  every  posture,  and  with 
anatomical  fidelity.  Nor  are  the  people  in  humble  life 

338 


SEATS  OF  OLD  CIVILIZATIONS. 


339 


here  delineated.  The  figures  are  regal  or  priestly ;  some 
are  engaged  in  offering  up  sacrifices,  or  are  in  an  atti¬ 
tude  of  devotion ;  many  hold  a  sceptre  or  other  baton 
of  authority ;  their  apparel  is  gorgeous ;  their  head¬ 
dresses  are  elaborately  arrayed,  and  decorated  with 
long  feathers,  probably  of  the  quezal,  which  was  the 
sacred  bird  of  that  region.  Ornaments  depend  from 
their  ears ;  beads  are  entwined  in  their  hair  or  encircle 
their  necks ;  costly  tunics  are  thrown  over  their 
shoulders  ;  their  loins  are  girt  with  rich  furs  ;  their  feet 
are  shod  with  sandals ;  in  fact,  all  their  paraphernalia 
indicate  a  barbaric  pomp  which  an  Oriental  monarch 
might  envy.  Thus,  it  is  evident  that  this  peculiar  con¬ 
formation  of  skull  was  characteristic  of  the  most  exalted 
personages ;  and,  admitting  that  it  was  the  result  of 
artificial  compression,  which  is  only  in  exceptional  cases 
established,  still  it  is  clear  that  there  existed  a  prototype 
of  what  they  regarded  as  manly  beauty,  to  which  they 
wished  to  conform.  That  prototype,  as  we  have  seen, 
can  be  traced  back  to  the  remotest  antiquity  of  man  on 
this  hemisphere. 

The  civilizations  of  the  Old  World,  in  the  light  of 
modern  ethnological  discoveries,  probably  originated  in 
the  tropics,  and  extended  with  slow  advances  to  the 
temperate  climates.  These  civilizations  resulted,  as 
has  been  shown,  from  the  profusion  of  nature,  in  regions 
where  vegetation  is  perennial,  furnishing  man  with  the 
spontaneous  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  requiring  little  or 
no  exertion  beyond  the  plucking  of  them,  and  where 
few  precautions  are  to  be  taken  to  guard  against  cold. 
Whilst  such  a  climate  is  not  adapted  to  develop  the  full 
power,  physical  and  intellectual,  of  man,  it  would  form 
the  starting  point  in  his  career.  Hence,  in  undertaking 
to  trace  the  migrations  of  the  Mound-builder,  I  would 


340 


WHO  WERE  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS? 


direct  attention  to  the  warm  climate  of  Central  America, 
rather  than  to  the  hyperborean  regions  of  Siberia  and 
Behring’s  Strait,  as  marking  the  line  of  his  departure. 

The  primitive  lines  of  emigration,  so  far  as  they  relate 
to  North  America,  were  probably  from  the  south  to  the 
north ;  nor  is  there  wanting  historical  evidence  of  such 
a  movement. 

The  traditions  as  well  as  the  monuments  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America,  would  indicate  that  there  was  an 
older  civilization,  and  of  a  higher  order  than  that 
attained  by  the  Aztecs.  The  latter  were  the  Brachy- 
cephali ;  they  subjugated  the  Bolicocephali,  probably 
allied  to  the  old  Carib  race,  and,  without  obliterating 
their  civilization,  asserted  their  physical  sway. 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  Aztecs,  the  authorities  are 
conflicting.  Torquemada,  Boturini,  and  Clavigero 
assign  to  them  a  northwestern  or  western  origin,  and 
Prescott  states  that  this  theory  derives  stronger  con¬ 
firmation  from  the  light  of  tradition ;  whilst  Bartlett 
says  that  he  sees  no  satisfactory  evidence  of  its  truth, 
and  Squier  goes  still  further,  and  declares  that  the 
hypothesis  of  a  migration  from  Nicaragua  and  Cuscut- 
lan  to  Anahuac,  is  altogether  more  consonant  with 
probabilities.*  The  Indians  of  New  Mexico,  as  we  have 
seen,  claim  that  Montezuma  was  born  in  their  country, 
and  signalized  his  early  career  by  founding  pueblos  as 
he  moved  southward  ;  and  finally  attained  supreme 
power  as  emperor  of  Mexico.  Whatever  their  origin, 
this  fact  stands  out  in  the  history  of  that  country  :  that 
the  Aztecs  moved  into  the  valley  of  Anahuac  only  about 
three  hundred  years  before  the  Spanish  Conquest,  and 
that  up  to  that  time  had  failed  to  consolidate  the 
Mexican  Empire,  for  it  was  through  an  alliance  with 

*  Consult  Hayden,  “  Archseology,”  etc.,  p.  148. 


THE  TOLTECS. 


341 


the  Tlascalans  and  other  tribes,  who  were  unfriendly  to 
the  Aztec  dominion,  that  Cortez  was  enabled  to  over¬ 
throw  it. 

The  Aztecs  were  not  barbarians,  but  like  the  Goths 
in  invading  the  Roman  Empire,  were  disposed  to  adopt 
the  arts,  the  civilization,  and  perhaps  even  the  religion 
of  the  conquered.  The  older  ruins  show  a  refined  skill 
which  was  not  attained  in  those  of  a  more  modern  date  ; 
and  the  picture-writing  on  the  Aztec  monuments  fails 
to  interpret  the  inscriptions  of  Palenque  and  Copan. 

The  Aztecs,  grafting  their  ideas  on  an  older  and 
higher  order  of  civilization,  had  made  themselves  skill¬ 
ful  artificers,  and  Bernal  Diaz,  in  describing  the  splendors 
of  their  capital,  remarks,  that  he  could  compare  them  to 
nothing  but  “  the  enchanted  scenes  we  had  read  of  in 
Amadis  de  Gaul,  from  the  great  towers  and  temples, 
and  other  edifices  of  lime  and  stone,  which  seemed  to 
rise  up  out  of  the  water.”  They  attained  a  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  more  intricate  movements  of  the  solar  sys¬ 
tem  ;  they  solved  the  cause  of  eclipses,  and  calculated 
the  length  of  the  solar  year.  It  is  quite  probable  that 
these  astronomical  problems,  which  indicate  a  high 
range  of  intellect,  were  not  wrought  out  by  their 
own  ingenuity,  but  were  derived  from  the  subjugated 
race. 

As  to  the  conquered  race,  the  Abbd  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  *  perhaps  the  ablest  interpreter  of  the 
ancient  Mexican  records,  maintains  that  they  were 
Toltecs  or  Nahuas  —  a  people  identical  with  the  Mound- 
builders  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Valleys.  These 
ancient  records  make  repeated  mention  of  an  empire 

*  Mr.  J.  D.  Baldwin,  in  his  “Ancient  America,”  p.  201,  et  scq.,  has 
given  an  elaborate  resum6  of  de  Bourbourg’s  “  Quatre  Lettres  ”  and 
“  Soured  de  ITIistoire  du  Mexique,”  of  which  I  shall  avail  myself. 


342 


WHO  WERE  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  ? 


situated  at  a  distance  to  the  northeast,  and  known  as 
Huehue  Tlapalan,  from  which  they  came  to  Mexico,  in 
consequence  of  domestic  insurrection  or  outside  invasion. 
Their  migration  was  long  and  toilsome.  Some  came  by 
land  and  others  by  sea.  The  simple  name  of  the  country 
was  Tlapalan,  but  it  was  called  Huehue  (old)  Tlapalan, 
to  distinguish  it  from  three  other  places  wliich  they 
founded  in  the  new  region,  and  to  which  they  attached 
the  same  name.  One  company  settled  near  the  Tampico 
River,  and  built  a  town  called  Panuco.  It  was  con¬ 
ducted  by  twenty  chiefs  and  followed  by  a  numerous 
retinue  of  people.  Torquemada  found  an  old  record 
which  describes  this  people  as  of  fine  appearance,  intel¬ 
ligent,  and  of  industrious  and  orderly  habits,  and  skilled 
in  the  working  of  metals  and  stones.  They  went  for¬ 
ward  into  the  country  and  were  well  received. 

Another  account  as  to  the  forced  emigration  of  the 
Toltecs,  is  to  the  effect  that  they  were  assailed  by  the 
Chichimecs — a  name  applied  to  all  the  barbarous  tribes 
of  the  New  World — who  were  united  under  one  great 
leader  ;  that  there  was  a  terrible  struggle,  but  that  after 
about  thirteen  years  of  conflict,  the  Toltecs,  no  longer 
able  to  resist  successfully,  were  obliged  to  abandon  their 
country  to  escape  complete  subjugation  ;  that  two  chiefs 
guided  the  march  of  the  emigrating  nation ;  and  that 
at  length  they  reached  a  region  near  the  sea,  named 
Tlapalan  Conco,  where  they  remained  several  years; 
but  that  they  finally  undertook  another  migration,  and 
reached  Mexico,  where  they  built  a  town  called  Tollan- 
zinco,  and  later  the  city  of  Tullan,  which  became  the 
seat  of  their  government. 

The  oldest  certain  date,  according  to  the  Abbd  Bras- 
seur,  in  the  Nahuatal  or  Toltec  language,  reaches  hack 
955  years  before  Christ ;  and  as  the  Toltecs  dwelt  for 


TOLTEC  CIVILIZATION. 


343 


some  time  in  the  country  of  Zibalba,  before  they  seized 
upon  the  supreme  power,  their  migration  must  have 
begun  more  than  a  thousand  years  before  the  Christian 
Era.  The  race  whom  they  dispossessed,  was  known  as 
the  Colhuas,  who  came  in  ships  probably  from  South 
America, —  a  remnant  of  the  people,  as  conjectured  by 
the  Abb^,  who  had  escaped  the  terrible  calamity 
involved  in  the  destruction  of  Atlantis,  by  the  com¬ 
bined  forces  of  fire  and  water.  They  were  not  bar¬ 
barians,  but  are  described  as  a  people  who  first  planted 
among  them  the  seeds  of  civilization  and  erected  great 
cities.  They  taught  the  Chichimecs  —  the  rude  tribes 
— how  to  cook  food  and  cultivate  the  soil.  These 
tribes,  according  to  tradition,  were  the  Autochthones  — 
the  people  by  whom  the  region  was  occupied  “at  the 
beginning  of  time.”  It  was  through  an  alliance  with 
them  that  the  Toltecs  gained  supreme  power,  which 
appears  to  have  become  disintegrated,  leaving  the 
country  disorganized,  two  or  three  centuries  before  the 
appearance  of  the  Aztecs. 

Some  of  the  seats  of  the  Colhuan  civilization  were  in 
the  region  now  covered  by  the  great  forest,  but  whether 
the  highest  manifestations  of  art,  exhibited  in  the  ruined 
cities,  are  to  be  ascribed  to  them  or  to  the  Toltecs,  is  a 
matter  of  doubt.  History  presents  few  examples  of  a 
people  utterly  exterminated  ;  the  vanquished,  generally 
absorbed  by  the  victors,  and  reduced  to  slavery  or 
obedience,  become  an  element  of  material  wealth,  but 
not  of  political  strength,  in  building  up  an  empire,  just 
as  the  Helots  were  used  by  the  ancient  Athenians  to 
cultivate  their  lands  and  attend  them  in  battle.  What¬ 
ever  of  civilization  the  Colhuas  possessed,  was  probably 
adopted  and  grafted  upon  by  the  Toltecs  ;  and  that  it 
culminated  under  their  supremacy,  is  inferred  from  the 


344 


WHO  WERE  THE  MOUND  -  BTJILDEES  ? 


truncated  pyramid,  which  characterises  the  foundations 
of  all  their  elaborate  and  ornamented  structures. 

Stevens  is  disposed  to  adopt  the  hypothesis  that  the 
people  found  in  possession  of  Central  America  at  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  Conquest,  formed  a  part  of  the  dis¬ 
membered  Toltecan  empire,  who,  while  cut  olf  from  the 
central  source  of  communication,  were  not  wholly 
reduced  to  Aztec  sway.  Simple  in  tastes  and  content 
to  toil,  they  exercised  little  or  no  influence  in  the  choice 
of  their  master  ;  and,  as  among  most  of  the  nations  of 
antiquity,  it  mattered  not  to  the  people  whether  that 
master  was  called  king,  or  caique,  or  inca,  or  tyrant. 
There  was  exacted  a  personal  servitude  ;  there  was  an 
abnegation  of  every  form  approaching  popular  sover¬ 
eignty.  The  state  controlled  the  labor  of  the  masses, 
and  its  supervision  extended  to  the  domestic  economy 
of  every  household ;  to  the  place  where  the  citizen 
should  reside,  to  the  occupation  he  should  follow,  and 
to  the  wife  even  he  should  marry.  * 

It  is  to  such  a  condition  of  society,  a  condition  based 
on  human  slavery,  that  we  trace  the  origin  of  most  of 
the  monuments  of  antiquity,  imposing  by  their  vastness, 
but  frivolous  as  to  their  objects.  Buckle,  in  reference 
to  the  erection  of  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  aptly  remarks : 
“  No  wealth  however  great,  no  expenditure  however 
lavish,  could  meet  the  expense  which  would  have  been 
incurred,  if  they  had  been  the  work  of  free  men,  who 
received  for  the  labor  a  fair  and  honest  reward.  .  .  . 
We  may  form  some  idea  of  the  incredible  waste  (of 
labor),  when  we  hear  that  two  thousand  men  were 
occupied  for  three  years  in  carrying  a  single  stone  from 
Elephantine  to  Sais ;  that  the  canal  of  the  Red  Sea 
alone  cost  the  lives  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 

*  Buckle,  “  History  of  Civilization,”  vol.  i,  p.  8i. 


PYRAMIDS. 


345 


Egyptians ;  and  that  to  build  one  of  the  pyramids 
required  the  labor  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
men  for  twenty  years.”* 

When  we  read  of  the  great  national  highway  of 
Peru,  Macadamized  or  paved  with  slabs  of  stone, 
stretching  for  more  than  a  thousand  miles,  and  con¬ 
necting  together  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  empire  ; 
of  the  “princely  palaces”  of  the  Incas,  built  of  hewn 
stone,  and  supplied  with  water  by  aqueducts  of  costly 
structure  ;  and  when  we  see  such  cities  in  Central 
America  as  Palenque,  Copan,  and  Uxmal,  magnificent 
even  in  their  ruins,  we  must  admit  the  former  existence 
of  a  well-organized  government.  When  in  Mexico,  we 
behold  such  a  vast  structure  as  the  terraced  pyramid 
of  Cholula,  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  feet  in  height, 
with  a  base  of  thirteen  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  — 
nearly  double  that  of  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Egypt, 
—  with  its  masonry  of  brick,  and  covering  an  area  of 
forty-five  acres  ;  and  find  that  the  object  of  this  immense 
expenditure  of  human  labor  was  to  enshrine,  in  an  inte¬ 
rior  chamber  of  stone,  two  corpses,  whose  living  names 
have  long  since  perished  from  the  recollection  even  of 
their  own  people,  we  are  brought  to  the  sad  conclusion 
that  the  industry  of  the  great  mass  of  the  population 
was  at  the  absolute  command  of  the  few.  These 
ancient  civilizations,  in  both  hemispheres,  as  attested  by 
monuments  which  elicit  the  admiration  of  posterity, 
are,  in  the  language  of  Buckle,  “  an  evidence  of  a  state 
of  things  altogetlier  depraved  and  unhealthy  ;  a  state 
in  which  the  skill  and  the  arts  of  an  imperfect  refine¬ 
ment  injured  those  whom  they  ought  to  have  benefited  ; 
so  that  the  very  resources  which  the  people  had  created 
were  turned  against  the  people  themselves.”! 

*  Ibidem,  vol.  i,  p.  66.  f  p.  66. 


346 


WHO  WERE  THE  MOHOT)  -  BUILDERS  ? 


The  platform  mound  of  Cahokia,  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  was  supposed  to  contain  one-fourth  the  cubic 
contents  of  the  great  pyramid  of  Ghizeh ;  and  that  of 
Grave  Creek  is  nearly  equal  to  the  third  pyramid  or 
that  of  Mycerinus ;  and  when  we  consider  that  these 
vast  piles  were  heaped  up  by  a  people  who  were  desti¬ 
tute  of  a  knowledge  of  iron,  and  were  compelled  to 
rely  on  implements  of  stone,  flaked  from  materials 
brought  often  from  long  distances ;  and  further,  that 
they  could  not  avail  themselves  of  the  auxiliary  aid  of 
the  domesticated  animals,  such  as  the  ox  and  the  horse  ; 

—  we  must  arrive  at  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  the 
condition  of  society  among  the  Mound-builders  was  not 
that  of  free  men ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  state 
possessed  absolute  power  over  the  lives  and  fortunes  of 
its  subjects.  This  condition  of  affairs  implies  a  very 
considerable  advance  in  society,  and  a  complex  system 
of  government ;  and  to  maintain  and  perpetuate  such 
a  system,  there  must  have  been  cheap  food,  whereby 
only  a  portion  of  the  labor  of  the  community  was  re¬ 
quired  to  provide  the  means  of  subsistence,  leaving  a 
certain  portion  —  a  moiety  of  the  whole  —  to  be  applied 
to  the  construction  of  those  objects  which  did  not  di¬ 
rectly  subserve  human  wants  and  conveniences. 

As  in  India  rice,  and  in  Egypt  the  date,  furnished 
the  national  food,  without  taxing  to  an  undue  extent 
the  energies  of  the  people ;  so  in  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
maize  undoubtedly  constituted  the  great  staple  of  sub¬ 
sistence,  and  the  monuments  of  its  ancient  civilization 
are  mainly  restricted  within  the  area  adapted  to  its  cult-  )  ^ 
ure.  It  is  a  plant  highly  prolific  and  easily  cultivated, 
and  the  product  of  a  single  acre  furnishes  rations  suf¬ 
ficient  to  sustain,  for  an  entire  year,  all  the  way  from 
one  hundred  and  twenty,  to  two  hundred  and  forty  able- 


INDIAN  CHARACTER. 


347 


bodied  men.  The  area  of  forest-belt,  abundantly 
stocked  with  game,  required  to  support  an  equally  nu¬ 
merous  population,  would  vary  from  nearly  eight  hun¬ 
dred  thousand,  to  more  than  a  million  and  one-half  acres. 

That  the  Mound-builders  cultivated  the  soil  in  a 
methodical  manner,  far  different  from  the  mode  pursued 
by  the  present  Indians,  is  evident  from  the  vestiges  of 
ancient  garden-beds  which  have  been  particularly  de¬ 
scribed  in  a  preceding  chapter.  They  relied  upon  the 
constantly-recurring  seasons  of  seed-time  and  harvest 
as  a  means  of  support,  rather  than  upon  the  precarious 
chances  of  hunting  and  fishing. 

A  broad  chasm  is  to  be  spanned  before  we  can  link 
the  Mound-builders  to  the  North  American  Indians. 
They  were  essentially  different  in  their  form  of  govern¬ 
ment,  their  habits,  and  their  daily  pursuits.  The  latter, 
since  known  to  the  white  man,  has  spurned  the  re¬ 
straints  of  a  sedentary  life,  which  attach  to  agriculture, 
and  whose  requirements,  in  his  view,  are  ignoble.  He 
was  never  known  to  erect  structures  which  should  sur¬ 
vive  the  lapse  of  a  generation.  His  lodges  consist  of  a 
few  poles,  one  end  planted  in  the  ground  and  the  other 
secured  with  withes  at  the  top,  and  over  which  are 
stretched  plaits  of  matting,  or  of  birch  bark,  or  the 
skins  of  the  buffalo.  This  frail  structure  constitutes 
his  shelter  from  the  elements  ;  and  these  miserable  wig¬ 
wams  are  the  promiscuous  habitations  of  both  sexes. 
The  sanctity  of  the  domestic  relation  is  unknown. 
Youth  and  age  there  find  an  abiding  place  for  the  time 
being,  to  be  abandoned  whenever  the  inclemency  of  the 
season  or  the  scarcity  of  game  supervenes.  An  eye¬ 
witness  myself,  in  early  manhood,  to  the  primitive  man¬ 
ners  and  simplicity  of  this  race,  I  am  compelled  to  con¬ 
fess  that  the  pleasing  vision  of  a  people  “  clothed  with 


348 


WHO  WERE  THE  MOUND  -  BUELDERS  ? 


the  fairest  attributes  of  peace  and  innocence,”  was 
forcibly  dispelled,  when  I  witnessed  the  fierce  passions 
and  cruel  hates  by  Avhich  their  conduct  was  swayed. 
The  Arcadian  virtues,  sung  by  the  poets,  as  character¬ 
istic  of  primitive  society,  were  entirely  wanting.*  Cot¬ 
ton  Mather,  in  a  rugged  and  forcible  way,  describes  the 
Indians,  before  they  had  become  contaminated  with 
the  vices  of  civilization,  as  “  those  doleful  creatures, 
the  veriest  ruins  of  mankind  to  be  found  on  the  face  of 
the  earth ;  ”  “  whose  clothing  was  the  skin  of  a  beast ;  ” 
who  cured  their  fish  by  drying,  and  not  by  salting,  “  for 
they  had  not  a  grain  of  salt  in  the  world  who  abode 
in  a  place  until  they  “  had  burnt  up  all  the  wood  there¬ 
abouts  ;  ”  and  whose  “  way  of  living  was  infinitely  bar¬ 
barous.”  f 

*  General  G.  A.  Custar,  in  one  of  his  chapters,  “  Life  on  the  Plains  ” 
(Galaxy,  January,  1873)  says  :  “  My  firm  conviction,  based  upon  an  inti¬ 
mate  and  thorough  analysis  of  the  habits  of  character,  and  natural  in¬ 
stinct  of  the  Indian,  and  strengthened  and  supported  by  the  almost 
unanimous  opinion  of  all  persons  who  have  made  the  Indian  problem  a 
study,  and  have  studied  it,  not  from  a  distance,  but  in  immediate  contact 
with  all  the  facts  bearing  thereupon,  is,  that  the  Indian  cannot  be  ele¬ 
vated  to  that  great  level  where  he  can  be  induced  to  adopt  any  policy  or 
mode  of  life  varying  from  those  to  which  he  has  ever  been  accustomed, 
by  any  method  of  teaching,  argument,  reasoning,  or  coaxing,  which  is  not 
preceded  and  followed  closely  in  reserve  by  a  superior  physical  force. 
In  other  words,  the  Indian  is  capable  of  recognizing  no  controlling  influ¬ 
ence  but  that  of  stern,  arbitrary  power.  To  assume  that  he  can  be 
guided  by  appeals  to  his  ideas  of  moral  right  and  wrong,  independent  of 
threatening  or  final  compulsion,  is  to  place  him  far  above  his  more  civil¬ 
ized  brothers  of  the  white  race,  who,  in  the  most  advanced  stage  of  refine¬ 
ment  and  morality,  still  find  it  necessary  to  employ  force,  sometimes 
resort  to  war,  to  exact  justice  from  a  neighboring  nation.  And  yet  there 
are  those  who  argue  that  the  Indian,  with  all  his  lack  of  moral  privileges, 
is  so  superior  to  the  white  race  as  to  be  capable  of  being  controlled  in 
his  savage  traits  and  customs,  and  induced  to  lead  a  proper  life,  simply 
by  being  politely  requested  to  do  so.” 

f  Mather,  “  Life  of  Elliot,”  etc. 


SUMMARY. 


349 


The  government  existing  among  these  people  is 
simply  patriarchal.  The  authority  of  the  chief  is  held 
by  a  slender  thread,  liable  to  be  severed  at  any  mo¬ 
ment  ;  and  the  questions  whether  to  defend  their  own 
borders,  or  invade  those  of  neighboring  tribes,  must  be 
determined  after  numerous  smokes  and  pow-wows,  in 
which  the  medicine-man  with  his  incantations,  plays 
an  important  part ;  so  that  in  the  conduct  of  the  In¬ 
dian,  instead  of  looking  to  an  artless  credulity,  we  are 
to  look  to  overmastering  superstition  as  his  governing 
motive.  As  the  democratic  principle  is  recognized  and 
acted  upon  in  all  their  tribal  relations,  we  may  well  com¬ 
prehend  how  distasteful  would  be  an  order  to  throw  up 
a  structure  such  as  that  at  Cahokia  or  at  Grave  Creek, 
involving  an  amount  of  personal  servitude  at  which 
all  the  free  instincts  of  their  nature,  fostered  by  their 
roving  habits,  would  revolt.  No  chief  would  dare  issue 
such  a  command  ;  no  subaltern  would  engage  in  the  work. 
The  domestic  economy  of  the  Indian,  then,  as  contrasted 
with  that  of  the  Mound-builder,  exhibits  two  widely- 
different  conditions  of  society.  In  the  one  case,  the 
people  had  fixed  habitations  and  methodical  pursuits, 
and  the  day’s  labor  was  crowned  with  definite  and  accu¬ 
mulated  results  :  in  the  other,  the  people  led  a  nomadic 
life  ;  a  feast  followed  a  famine  ;  and,  with  their  shift¬ 
ing  habitations,  the  accumulation  of  personal  property 
would  prove  an  incumbrance  rather  than  a  convenience. 

A  summary  of  the  conclusions  arrived  at  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  pages  with  regard  to  the  origin,  customs,  and 
ultimate  fate  of  the  Mound-builders,  may  appropriately 
form  the  conclusion  of  this  chapter. 

1.  That  as  a  race  their  origin  extends  back  to  a  re¬ 
mote  antiquity  ;  but  all  attempts  to  trace  that  origin  to 
a  common  fountain  of  life,  as  with  other  races  now  in- 


350 


WHO  WERE  THE  MOUND  -  BUH^D EES  ? 


habiting  the  earth,  soon  involve  the  investigator  in  the 
mazes  of  conjecture. 

2.  That  they  possessed  a  conformation  of  skull 
which  would  link  them  to  the  autochthones  of  this  hem¬ 
isphere, — a  conformation  which  was  subsequently  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  people  who  developed  the  ancient  civih- 
zation  of  Mexico  and  Central  America. 

3.  That  whilst  their  manners  and  customs  conformed 
in  many  respects  to  those  of  ancient  races  of  the  Old 
World,  they  may  be  regarded  as  the  result  of  man’s 
contact  with  external  nature,  rather  than  of  inheritance 
through  successive  generations,  and,  therefore,  that 
they  are  of  little  importance  in  tracing  ethnic  relations. 

4.  That  during  their  occupancy  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  they  developed  traits  in  their  domestic  economy 
and  their  civil  relations,  which  distinguished  them  by  a 
well-marked  line  of  division  from  the  Indian  who  was 
found  in  possession  of  the  continent  at  the  time  of  its 
European  discovery.  Their  monuments  indicate  that 
they  had  entered  upon  a  career  of  civilization :  they  lived 
in  stationary  communities,  cultivating  the  soil  and  rely¬ 
ing  on  its  generous  yield  as  a  means  of  support :  they 
clothed  themselves,  in  part  at  least,  in  garments  regu¬ 
larly  spun  and  woven  :  they  modelled  clay  and  carved 
stone  even  of  the  most  obdurate  character,  into  images 
representing  animate  objects,  including  even  the  human 
face  and  form,  with  a  close  adherence  to  nature :  they 
mined  and  cast  copper  into  a  variety  of  useful  forms : 
they  quarried  mica,  steatite,  chert,  and  the  novaculite 
slates,  which  they  wrought  into  articles  adapted  to 
personal  ornament,  to  domestic  use,  or  to  the  chase : 
unlike  the  Indians,  who  were  ignorant  of  the  curative 
properties  of  salt,  they  collected  the  brine  of  the  salines 
into  earthen  vessels  moulded  in  baskets,  which  they 


SUMMARY. 


351 


evaporated  into  a  form  which  admitted  of  transporta¬ 
tion  :  they  erected  an  elaborate  line  of  defense, 
stretching  for  many  hundred  miles,  to  guard  against 
the  sudden  irruption  of  enemies :  they  had  a  na¬ 
tional  religion,  in  which  the  elements  were  the  objects 
of  supreme  adoration :  temples  were  erected  upon 
the  platform  mounds,  and  watchfires  lighted  upon  the 
highest  summits :  and  in  the  celebration  of  the  mys¬ 
teries  of  their  faith,  human  sacrifices  were  probably 
offered  up.  The  magnitude  of  their  structures,  in¬ 
volving  an  infinitude  of  labor,  such  only  as  could  be 
expended  excei)t  in  a  community  where  cheap  food 
prevailed,  and  the  great  extent  of  their  commercial  re¬ 
lations,  reaching  to  widely  separated  portions  of  the 
continent,  imply  the  existence  of  a  stable  and  efficient 
government,  based  on  the  subordination  of  tlie  masses. 
As  the  civilizations  of  the  Old  World,  growing  out  of 
the  peculiar  conditions  of  soil  and  climate,  developed 
certain  forms  of  art  which  are  original  and  unique,  so 
on  this  continent  we  see  the  crude  conception  in  the 
truncated  pyramid,  as  first  displayed  in  Wisconsin,  Ohio, 
and  Illinois,  and  the  accomplished  result  in  the  stone¬ 
faced  foundations  of  the  temples  of  Uxmal  and  Pal- 
enque.  And  finally,  the  distinctive  character  of  the 
Mound-builders’  structures,  and  also  the  traditions 
which  have  been  preserved,  would  indicate  that  this 
people  were  expelled  from  the  Mississippi  Valley  by  a 
fierce  and  barbarous  race,  and  that  they  found  refuge 
in  the  more  genial  climate  of  Central  America,  where 
they  developed  those  germs  of  civilization,  originally 
planted  in  their  northern  homes,  into  a  perfection  which 
has  elicited  the  admiration  of  every  modern  explorer. 

5.  That  regarding  human  crania  in  their  identity  of 
conformation  as  among  the  surest  guides  in  tracing 


352 


WHO  WEEB  THE  MOUND  -  BUILDERS  ? 


national  affinities,  the  generalization  of  Morton  that  all 
the  tribes  of  this  hemisphere,  whether  living  or  extinct, 
from  the  Arctic  Sea  to  Cape  Horn,  exhibit  no  physical 
diversity,  and  are  essentially  one  race,  is  undoubtedly 
erroneous ;  that  the  two  great  divisions  into  Dolico- 
cephali  and  Bracliycepliali  are  as  well-marked  as  in  the 
Old  World  ;  and  that  if  any  distinction  is  to  be  drawn, 
it  is  to  the  effect  that  the  former  were  the  autochthonous 
race,  and  the  first  to  develop  the  germs  of  civilization. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE  UNITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE. 

IN  the  discussion  of  questions  relating  to  the  high 
antiquity  of  man  ;  his  dispersion  over  the  habitable 
portions  of  the  earth  ;  the  diversity  of  languages  ;  the 
permanence  of  types  as  indicated  by  color  of  skin, 
texture  of  hair,  configuration  of  skull,  and  other  ana¬ 
tomical  peculiarities  which  appear  to  be  in  no  degree 
dependent  on  climate  or  personal  habits;  the  query 
must  have  suggested  itself  to  every  comparative  physi¬ 
ologist,  Can  these  diversities  be  reconciled  on  the  sup¬ 
position  that  the  whole  human  race  is  the  offspring  of 
a  single  pair? 

If  we  admit  that  the  various  races  of  living  men, 
represented  by  such  extremes  as  the  Negroid  type  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  Caucasian  on  the  other,  are  the 
descendants  of  a  common  progenitor  who  lived  some 
four  thousand  years  ago,  we  find  it  impossible  to  explain 
why  these  distinctive  forms  should  have  manifested 
themselves  at  so  early  a  period  in  the  human  career, 
and  have  remained  constant  to  the  present  day.  Six 
hundred  years  before  the  Christian  Era  the  prophet 
asked,  “Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin?”  and 
modern  science  has  failed  to  answer  the  question  in  the 
affirmative.  Profane  records,  too,  show  that  these  types 
were  well-defined  at  a  time  when  human  history  begins, 
Y  353 


354 


UNITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  EACE. 


and  that  no  variety  has  originated  within  the  lapse  of 
recorded  time. 

As  the  readiest  solution  of  this  Gordian  knot,  many 
ethnologists  would  look  to  numerous  independent 
creations  in  different  parts  of  the  earth,  and  would 
even  separate  the  genus  Homo  into  a  sufficient  number 
of  species  to  accommodate  all  the  well-marked  varieties 
of  the  human  race.  “Were  we  to  admit,”  says  Lyell, 
“  a  unity  of  origin  of  such  strongly-marked  varieties  as 
the  Negro  and  European,  differing  as  they  do  in  color 
and  bodily  constitution,  each  fitted  for  distinct  climates, 
and  exhibiting  some  marked  peculiarities  in  their  osteo- 
logical  and  even  in  some  details  of  their  cranial  and  cere¬ 
bral  conformation,  as  well  as  in  their  intellectual  endow¬ 
ments  ;  if  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  all  these  attributes 
have  been  faithfully  handed  down  unaltered  for  hun¬ 
dreds  of  generations,  we  are  to  believe  that  in  the  course 
of  time  they  have  all  diverged  from  the  common  stock, 
how  shall  we  resist  the  argument  of  the  transmutationist 
who  contends  that  all  closely-allied  species  of  animals 
and  plants  have,  in  like  manner  sprung  from  a  common 
parentage  ?  ”  * 

If,  in  accordance  with  the  combined  investigations  of 
geologists  and  ethnologists,  we  carry  back  the  antiquity 
of  man  to  a  period  indefinitely  remote,  we  can  perhaps 
imagine  a  set  of  causes  operating  almost  silently  and 
unseen  through  thousands  of  generations,  which  would 
be  adequate  to  explain  these  diversities,  but  which  have 
exercised  no  perceptible  influence  within  the  Historic 
Epoch.  So  long  as  the  investigator  felt  the  necessity 
of  limiting  his  inquiries  to  causes  operating  within  the 
period  of  our  received  chronology,  little  progress  was 
made  ;  but  now  the  whole  question  of  the  origin  of  man 

*  “  Antiquity  of  Man,”  p.  338. 


HEBREW  CHRONOLOGY. 


355 


must  be  reopened  and  adjusted  in  accordance  with  the 
discoveries  of  modern  science  ;  and  I  doubt  not  that 
there  will  be  found  continuous  and  uninterrupted  causes 
which  shall  explain  all  the  diversities  in  the  different 
branches  of  the  human  family,  without  the  necessity  of 
resorting  to  independent  creations. 

As  representing  the  aspect  in  which  this  question  is 
at  present  regarded,  I  quote  the  sentiments  of  many  of 
the  most  eminent  men  of  the  present  generation,  who 
have  made  it  the  subject  of  profound  study. 

Thus  Dr.  Prichard  says :  “  Many  writers,  who  have 
been  by  no  means  inclined  to  raise  objections  against 
the  authority  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  particularly 
Michaelis,  have  felt  themselves  embarrassed  by  the 
shortness  of  the  interval  between  the  Noachic  Deluge 
and  the  period  at  which  the  records  of  the  various 
nations  commence,  or  the  earliest  date  to  which  their 
historical  memorials  lead  us  back.  The  extravagant 
claims  to  a  remote  and  almost  fathomless  antiquity,  made 
by  the  fabulists  of  many  ancient  nations,  have  vanished 
before  the  touch  of  accurate  criticism ;  but  after 
abstracting  all  that  is  apparently  mythological  from  the 
early  traditions  of  the  Indians,  Egyptians,  and  some 
other  nations,  the  probable  history  of  some  of  them 
seems  still  to  reach  up  to  a  period  too  remote  to  be 
reconciled  with  the  short  chronology  of  Usher  and 
Petavius.  This  has  been  so  universally  felt  by  all  those 
writers  who  have  entered  upon  the  investigation  of 
primeval  history  that  it  is  superfluous  to  dwell  upon  the 
subject.”  * 

Baron  Bunsen  is  forced  to  claim  for  the  human  race 
an  antiquity  of  20,000  years,  basing  his  conclusions  on 
the  common  origin  of  language. 

*  “  Researches  into  the  Physical  History  of  Mankind,”  vol.  v.  p.  553. 
Quoted  by  Lubbock,  “  Pre-historic  Times,”  p.  385. 


356 


UNITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE. 


“  The  oldest  monuments  of  Egypt,”  says  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Thompson,  “  can  hardly  be  brought  within  the 
date  of  the  flood  of  Noah,  according  to  the  Hebrew 
chronology.  The  date  assigned  to  the  three  great 
pyramids  by  most  Egyptologists  is  older  than  the  flood, 
as  this  is  reckoned  in  the  margin  of  our  bibles ;  and  the 
lowest  date  to  which  Professor  Piazzi  Smith  and  other 
advocates  of  the  shorter  chronology  would  reduce  them 
by  astronomical  modes  of  computation,  is  still  far  too 
old  to  be  fairly  accommodated  to  the  Hebrew  date  of 
the  flood.  .  .  .  The  tablet  of  Sethos  I.,  recently 

discovered  in  the  great  temple  of  Abydos,  introduces  a 
new  element  of  complication  into  these  calculations. 
Upon  this  tablet  a  monarch,  whose  period  is  pretty 
clearly  determined  as  of  the  fifteenth  century  before 
Christ,  is  represented  as  offering  sacrifice  to  his  royal 
predecessors,  of  whom  there  are  seventy-six  in  an  un¬ 
broken  line  up  to  Menes  ;  and  this  line  tallies  with  the 
fragmentary  lists  from  other  sources,  showing  that  this 
was  the  official  list  of  recognized  sovereigns  in  regular 
succession.  Eight  reigns  in  a  century  would,  by  the 
analogy  of  history  in  long  periods,  be  a  large  allow¬ 
ance.  But  even  an  average  of  ten  reigns  in  a  century 
would  require  the  whole  time  from  Sethos  I.,  back  to 
the  Flood  of  our  common  chronology,  to  dispose  of  the 
seventy-six  predecessors  of  that  king ;  and  when  we 
arrive  at  Menes,  we  find  already  an  empire  consolidated 
into  distinct  governments,  and  capable  of  building  the 
great  city  of  Memphis,  with  its  magnificent  temples 
and  towers,  and  its  huge  dyke  which  turned  the  course 
of  the  Nile.  Either,  then,  we  must  place  the  Flood 
much  farther  back  upon  the  chronological  scale,  or  must 
admit  not  only  that  it  was  not  universal  in  territorial 
extent  (which  is  altogether  probable),  but  that  it  was 


EGYPTIAN  MONUMENTS. 


357 


not  universal  in  the  destruction  of  mankind,  which 
would  seem  to  contradict  both  the  letter  and  spirit  of 
the  Sacred  Record.”* 

Mr.  George  Smith,  the  decipherer  of  the  seventh 
tablet  of  Assyrian  history,  finds  a  veritable  date,  that 
of  the  conquest  of  Babylonia  by  Kudur-nanhundi,  the 
Eamite,  which  extends  back  to  B.  c.  2280,  or  nearly  to 
the  received  date  of  the  Deluge.  At  this  time  reigned 
monarchs  in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  who*  founded  great 
cities,  reared  magnificent  temples  and  palaces,  exca¬ 
vated  canals,  and  upon  their  more  durable  structures 
engraved  characters  which  modern  ingenuity  lias  been 
able  to  interpret. 

Tlie  ingenious  author  of  “  The  Genesis  of  Earth  and 
Man”  has  forcibly  commented  upon  the  difficulties 
which  beset  us  when  we  attempt  to  account  for  the  de¬ 
scent  of  all  mankind  from  a  single  pair.  The  greatest 
of  these  difficulties  “lies  in  the  fact  of  our  finding 
upon  Egyptian  monuments,  mostly  of  the  thirteenth, 
fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries  before  the  Christian 
Era,  representations  of  individuals  of  numerous  nations, 
African,  Asiatic,  and  European,  differing  in  physical 
cliaracteristics  as  widely  as  any  equal  number  of  na¬ 
tions  of  the  present  age  that  could  be  grouped  together  ; 
among  these  being  negroes  of  the  true  Nigritian  stamp, 
depicted  with  a  fidelity  as  to  color  and  features,  hardly 
to  be  surpassed  by  a  modern  artist.  That  such  diver¬ 
sities  had  been  produced  by  natural  means  in  the  inter¬ 
val  between  that  remote  age  and  the  time  of  Noah, 
probably  no  one  versed  in  the  science  of  anatomy  and 
physiology  will  consider  credible.” 

Mr.  Alfred  Wallace,  whose  keen  powers  of  observa¬ 
tion  as  a  naturalist,  and  whose  comprehensive  range  as 

*  J.  P.  Thompson,  “  Man  in  Genesis  and  Geology,"  p.  lOO. 


358 


UNITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE. 


a  philosopher  have  so  essentially  enlarged  the  bounda¬ 
ries  of  our  knowledge  of  Natural  History,  has  under¬ 
taken  to  reconcile  the  conflicting  opinions  of  the  two 
parties  ;  the  one  who  holds  that  man  is  a  species,  and 
essentially  one,  and  that  all  differences  are  but  local 
and  temporary  variations,  produced  by  the  different 
physical  and  moral  differences  by  which  he  is  sur¬ 
rounded  ;  the  other,  that  man  is  a  genus  of  many  spe¬ 
cies,  each  of  which  is  unchangeable,  and  has  ever  been 
as  distinct,  and  even  more  distinct,  than  we  now  behold 
him.  These  differences,  he  thinks,  are  due  to  natural 
selection ;  and  whilst  he  believes  in  the  unity  of  the 
race,  “  the  best  of  the  argument  is  on  the  side  of  those 
who  maintain  the  primitive  diversity  of  man.”* 

In  the  expression  of  these  opinions  he  coincides  with 
Sir  Charles  Lyell,  the  Gamaliel  of  the  present  genera¬ 
tion  of  physicists,  at  whose  feet  we  have  all  been  con¬ 
tent  to  sit  and  receive  lessons  in  geology  and  the  kin¬ 
dred  sciences.  “  So  long,”  says  Sir  Charles,  “  as  phy¬ 
siologists  continue  to  believe  that  men  had  not  existed 
on  the  earth  above  six  thousand  years,  they  might,  with 
good  reason,  withhold  their  assent  from  the  doctrine  of 
a  unity  of  origin  of  so  many  distinct  races ;  but  the 
difficulty  becomes  less  and  less,  exactly  in  proportion  as 
we  enlarge  our  ideas  of  the  lapse  of  time  during  which 
different  communities  may  have  spread  slowly  and  be¬ 
come  isolated,  each  exposed  for  ages  to  a  peculiar  set 
of  conditions,  whether  of  temperature,  or  food,  or 
danger,  or  ways  of  living.  The  law  of  the  geometrical 
rate  of  the  increase  of  population,  which  causes  it  al¬ 
ways  to  press  hard  on  the  means  of  subsistence,  would 
insure  the  migration,  in  various  directions,  of  offshoots 
from  the  society  first  formed,  abandoning  the  area 

*  “  Anthropological  Review,”  May,  1864. 


STRUCTURAL  DIFFERENCES. 


•  359 


where  they  had  multiplied.  But  when  they  had  gradu¬ 
ally  penetrated  to  remote  regions  by  land  or  water  — 
drifted  sometimes  by  storms  or  currents  in  canoes  to  an 
unknown  shore, — barriers  of  mountains,  deserts,  or 
seas,  which  oppose  no  obstacle  to  mutual  intercourse 
between  civilized  nations,  would  insure  the  complete 
isolation  of  tens  of  thousands  of  centuries  of  tribes  in 
a  primitive  state  of  barbarism.”* 

Mr.  Darwin  in  his  work,  “  The  Descent  of  Man,”  has 
devoted  a  chapter  f  to  the  discussion  of  this  question, 
which  is  marked  by  that  extensive  knowledge  of  facts, 
and  that  power  of  philosophical  analysis  which  are 
characteristic  of  all  the  speculations  of  this  distinguished 
naturalist. 

He  commences  by  applying  to  the  races  of  men,  those 
generally-admitted  principles  which  naturahsts  make 
use  of  in  determining  among  the  lower  orders  whether 
two  or  more  allied  forms  ought  to  be  ranked  as  species 
or  varieties, —  such  as  the  amount  of  difference  between 
them,  and  whether  such  differences  relate  to  a  few  or 
many  points  of  structure,  and  whether  they  are  of 
physiological  importance  ;  but  more  especially  whether 
they  are  constant.  “  There  is  no  doubt,”  he  remarks, 
“  that  the  various  races,  when  carefully  compared  and 
measured,  differ  very  much  from  each  other,  as  in  the 
texture  of  the  hair,  the  relative  proportions  of  all  parts 
of  the  body,J  the  capacity  of  the  lungs,  the  form  and 
capacity  of  the  skull,  and  even  the  convolutions  of  the 
brain  ;  §  but  it  would  be  an  endless  task  to  specify  the 

*  “  Antiquity  of  Man,”  p.  386. 

t  Vol.  i.,  chap.  vii. 

t  See  “  Military  and  Anthropological  Statistics  of  American  Soldiers,” 
by  Dr.  B.  A.  Gould,  pp.  298  -  358. 

§  Marshall,  “  .\ccount  of  the  brain  of  a  Bush-woman,”  in  Philosophical 
Transactions,  1864,  p.  519. 


3G0 


UNITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE. 


numerous  iioints  of  structural  difference.  The  races 
differ  also  in  constitution,  in  acclimatization,  and  in 
liability  to  certain  diseases.  Their  mental  character¬ 
istics  are  likewise  very  distinct ;  chiefly  as  it  would 
appear  in  their  emotional,  but  partly  in  their  intellectual, 
faculties.  Every  one  who  has  had  the  opportunity  of 
comparison,  must  have  been  struck  with  the  contrast 
between  the  taciturn,  even  morose  aborigines  of  South 
America  and  the  light-hearted,  talkative  Negroes.  There 
is  nearly  a  similar  contrast  between  the  Malays  and 
Papuans,*  who  live  under  the  same  physical  condi¬ 
tions  and  are  separated  from  each  other  only  by  a 
narrow  space  of  sea. 

“  If  a  naturalist  were  to  compare  a  Negro,  Hottentot, 
Australian,  or  Mongolian,  he  would  at  once  perceive 
that  they  differed  in  a  multitude  of  characters,  some  of 
slight,  and  some  of  considerable,  importance.  On  inquiry 
he  would  find  that  they  were  adapted  to  live  under 
widely-different  climates,  and  that  they  differed  some¬ 
what  in  bodily  constitution  and  mental  disposition.  If 
he  were  then  told  that  hundreds  of  similar  specimens 
could  be  brought  from  the  same  countries,  he  would 
assuredly  declare  that  they  were  as  good  species  as  many 
to  which  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  affixing  specific 
names.  This  conclusion  would  be  greatly  strengthened 
as  soon  as  he  had  ascertained  that  these  forms  had  all 
retained  the  same  character  for  many  centuries  ;  and 
that  negroes  apparently  identical  with  existing  negroes, 
had  lived  at  least  4,000  years  ago.  He  would  also  hear 
from  an  excellent  observer.  Dr.  Lund,  that  human  skulls 
found  in  the  caves  of  Brazil,  entombed  with  many  extinct 
mammals,  belonged  to  the  same  type  as  that  now  pre¬ 
vailing  throughout  the  American  continent. 

*  Wallace.  “  The  Malay  Archipelago,”  vol.  ii,  p.  178. 


ZOOLOGICAL  PROVINCES. 


361 


“Our  naturalist  would  then,  perhaps,  turn  to  geo¬ 
graphical  distribution,  and  he  would  probably  declare 
that  forms  differing  not  only  in  appearance,  but  fitted 
for  the  hottest  and  dampest  or  driest  countries,  as  well 
as  for  the  Arctic  regions,  must  be  distinct  species.” 

By  way  of  illustration,  Mr.  Darwin  proceeds  to  show 
that  among  the  Quadrumana,  the  group  next  to  man, 
no  one  species  has  been  able  to  resist  a  low  temperature 
or  any  considerable  change  of  climate  ;  that  the  differ¬ 
ent  races  of  man,  as  first  pointed  out  by  Agassiz,  are 
distributed  over  the  world  in  the  same  zoological  pro¬ 
vinces  as  those  inhabited  by  undoubtedly  distinct 
species  and  genera  of  mammals ;  that  this  is  the  case 
with  the  Australian,  Mongolian,  and  Negro  races  ;  in  a 
less  well-marked  manner  with  the  Hottentots ;  but 
plainly  with  the  Papuans  and  Mala3's,  who  are  separated, 
as  Mr.  Wallace  has  shown,  by  nearly  the  same  line 
which  divides  the  Malayan  and  Australian  zoological 
provinces  ;  and  that  the  Esquimaux,  like  other  Arctic 
animals,  extend  round  the  whole  Polar  regions. 

Mr.  Darwin  then  calls  attention  to  the  fact,  that,  as 
among  the  domestic  animals  certain  external  parasites 
attach  to  different  species,  so  among  the  human  races. 
According  to  Mr.  Murray,*  the  Pediculi,  which  attach 
themselves  to  the  different  races  of  man,  differ  not 
onl^'  in  color,  but  in  the  structure  of  their  claws  and 
limbs.  The  Pediculi  which  infest  the  bodies  of  the 
Sandwich  Islanders,  when  domiciled  on  the  bodies  of 
English  sailoi’s,  died  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  days. 
This  might  be  urged  as  an  argument  that  the  races 
themselves  ought  to  be  classed  as  distinct  S2)ecies. 

Mr.  Darwin  next  proceeds  to  show,  that,  according 
to  Professor  Broca  and  others,  some  races  are  quite  fer- 

*“  Transactions  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,"  vol.  xwi,  p.  567. 


362 


UNITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE. 


tile  when  brought  together ;  that,  contrary  to  an  opinion 
extensively  propagated,  mulatto  families,  according  to 
Dr.  Bachman,*  which  have  intermarried  for  several 
generations,  have  continued  as  prolific  as  either  pure 
blacks  or  pure  whites  ;  and  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  from  per¬ 
sonal  inquiries  when  in  this  country,  arrived  at  the 
same  conclusion.  Lessened  fertility  and  vitality  do  not 
necessarily  accompany  one  another,  as  seen  in  the  com¬ 
mon  mule ;  so  that  the  perfect  fertility  of  the  inter¬ 
crossed  races  of  man,  if  established,  would  not  absolutely 
preclude  us  from  ranking  them  as  distinct  species. 

“On  the  other  side  of  the  question,”  argues  Mr. 
Darwin,  “if  our  supposed  naturalist  were  to  inquire 
Avhether  the  forms  of  man  kept  distinct,  like  ordinary 
species,  when  mingled  together  in  large  numbers  in  the 
same  country,  he  would  immediately  discover  that  this 
was  by  no  means  the  case.  In  Brazil  he  would  behold 
an  immense  mongrel  population  of  Negroes  and  Portu¬ 
guese  :  in  Chiloe  and  other  parts  of  South  America  he 
would  behold  the  whole  population  consisting  of  In¬ 
dians  and  Spaniards  blended  in  various  degrees :  in 
many  parts  of  the  same  continent  he  would  meet  with 
many  of  the  most  complex  crosses  between  Negroes, 
Indians,  and  Europeans  ;  and  such  triple  crosses  afford 
the  severest  test,  judging  from  the  vegetable  kingdom, 
of  the  fertility  of  the  parent  forms.  .  .  .  Hence, 

the  races  of  man  are  not  sufficiently  distinct  to  co-exist 
without  fusion ;  and  this  it  is  which,  in  all  ordinary 
cases,  affords  the  usual  test  of  distinctiveness.” 

Mr.  Darwin  next  proceeds  to  show  that  the  distinctive 
characters  of  every  race  are  variable  ;  that  the  negro 
slaves  in  Brazil,  imported  from  every  part  of  Africa, 

*  “  An  Examination  of  Professor  Agassiz’s  sketch  of  Natural  Provinces 
of  the  Animal  World,”  p.  44. 


CLIMATE  INOPERATIVE. 


363 


are  not  uniform  in  character  ;  that  the  Hottentot  women 
offer  certain  strongly-marked  peculiarities,  but  that 
these  are  not  of  constant  occurrence  ;  that  in  several 
American  tribes,  color  and  hairiness  differ  considerably  ; 
that  the  shape  of  the  skull  varies  much  in  some  races ; 
and  that  so  far  as  relates  to  other  characteristics, 
they  graduate  into  each  other,  so  that  at  this  day  com¬ 
parative  physiologists  are  disputing  whether  man  should 
be  classed  as  one  species  or  race,  or  many,  all  the  way 
up  to  sixty-three.  That  notwithstanding  these  differ¬ 
ences,  yet  if  the  whole  organization  be  taken  into  con¬ 
sideration,  they  are  found  to  resemble  each  other  so 
closely  in  a  multitude  of  points  that  it  is  extremely 
improbable  that  they  should  have  been  independently 
acquired  by  aboriginally  distinct  species  or  races. 

“  Of  all  the  differences  between  the  races  of  man,” 
continues  Mr.  Darwin,  “  the  color  of  the  skin  is  the 
most  conspicuous  and  best  marked.  Differences  of  this 
kind,  it  was  formerly  thought,  could  be  accounted  for 
by  long  exposure  under  different  climates  ;  but  Pallas 
first  showed  that  this  view  is  not  tenable,  and  he  has 
been  followed  by  almost  all  anthropologists.  The  view 
has  been  rejected  chiefly  because  the  distribution  of  the 
variously-colored  races,  most  of  whom  must  have  long 
inhabited  their  present  homes,  does  not  coincide  with 
corresponding  differences  of  climate.  Weight  must 
also  be  given  to  such  cases  as  that  of  the  Dutch  fami¬ 
lies  who,  as  we  hear  on  excellent  authority,  have  not 
undergone  the  least  change  of  color,  after  residing  for 
three  centuries  in  South  Africa.  The  uniform  appear¬ 
ance  in  various  parts  of  the  world  of  gypsies  and  Jews, 
though  the  uniformity  of  the  latter  had  been  somewhat 
exaggerated,  is  likewise  an  argument  on  the  same  side. 
A  very  damp  or  a  very  dry  atmosphere  has  been  sup- 


364 


UNITY  ON  THE  HUMAN  RACE. 


posed  to  be  more  influential  in  modifying  the  color  of 
the  skin  than  mere  heat;  but  as  D’Orbigny  in  South 
America,  and  Livingstone  in  Africa,  arrived  at  dia¬ 
metrically  opposite  conclusions  with  respect  to  damp¬ 
ness  and  dryness,  any  conclusion  on  this  head  must  be 
considered  very  doubtful.” 

The  well-attested  fact  of  the  immunity  of  the  negro 
from  yellow  fever  seems  to  be  partly  inherent,  depend¬ 
ing  on  some  unknown  peculiarity  of  constitution,  and 
partly  on  the  result  of  acclimatization,  but  in  no  degree 
connected  with  the  color  of  his  skin. 

While  Mr.  Darwin  infers  that  the  characteristic  dif¬ 
ferences  between  the  races  of  men  cannot  be  accounted 
for  in  a  satisfactory  manner  by  the  direct  action  of  the 
conditions  of  life,  nor  by  the  effects  of  the  continued 
use  of  parts,  nor  through  the  principle  of  correlation, 
he  would  rather  look  to  Sexual  Selection  as  the  im¬ 
portant  agency. 

After  having  shown,  by  historical  references,  that 
with  the  lowest  savages,  the  people  of  each  tribe  ad¬ 
mire  their  own  characteristic  qualities  —  the  shape  of 
the  head  and  face,  the  squareness  of  the  cheek-bones, 
the  prominence  or  depression  of  the  nose,  the  color  of 
the  skin,  the  length  of  the  hair  on  the  head,  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  the  hair  on  the  face  and  body,  or  the  presence 
of  a  great  beard,  etc.,  —  he  infers  that  “such  points 
could  hardly  fail  to  be  slowly  exaggerated  from  the 
more  powerful  and  able  men  in  each  tribe,  who  would 
succeed  in  rearing  the  largest  number  of  offspring, 
having  selected  during  many  generations  as  their  wives 
the  most  strongly-characterized,  and  therefore  the  most 
attractive  women.  For  my  own  part,  I  conelude  that 
of  all  the  causes  which  have  led  to  the  differences  in 
external  appearance  between  the  races  of  man,  and  to 


RACES  MERE  VARIETIES. 


365 


a  certain  extent  between  man  and  the  lower  animals, 
Sexual  Selection  has  been  by  far  the  most  efficient.”* 

Upon  the  question  of  the  unity  of  the  human  race, 
the  opinions  of  Humboldt,  a  man  whose  long  scientifie 
career  was  unfettered  by  the  dogmas  of  the  past,  who 
was  always  ready  to  hail  every  new  discovery,  and 
whose  extended  travels  brought  him  in  contact  with 
the  most  intellectual  as  well  as  the  most  abject  indi¬ 
viduals  of  his  species, —  the  opinions  of  such  a  man  are 
not  to  be  lightly  disregarded  by  the  comparative  physi¬ 
ologist. 

“  As  long  as  attention,”  he  remarks,  “  was  directed 
solely  to  the  extremes  in  the  varieties  of  color  and  of 
form,  and  to  the  vividness  of  the  first  impression  of  the 
senses,  the  observer  was  naturally  disposed  to  regard 
races  rather  as  originally  different  species  than  as  mere 
varieties.  The  permanence  of  certain  types  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  hostile  influences,  especially  of  cli¬ 
mate,  appeared  to  favor  such  a  view,  notwithstanding 
the  shortness  of  the  interval  of  time  from  which  the 
historical  evidence  was  derived.  In  my  opinion,  how¬ 
ever,  more  powerful  reasons  can  be  advanced  in  sup¬ 
port  of  the  theory  of  the  unity  of  the  human  raee,  as, 
for  instance,  in  the  many  intermediate  gradations  in 
the  color  of  the  skin  and  in  the  form  of  the  skull,  which 
have  been  made  known  to  us  in  recent  times  by  the 
rapid  progress  of  geographical  knowledge  —  the  analo¬ 
gies  presented  by  the  varieties  in  the  species  of  many 
wild  and  domesticated  animals, —  and  the  more  correct 
observations  collected  regarding  the  limits  of  fecundity 
in  hybrids.  The  greater  number  of  the  contrasts 
which  were  formerly  supposed  to  exist  have  disappeared 
before  the  laborious  researches  of  Tiedemann  on  the 
* . 


‘  Descent  of  Man,”  vol.  ii,  p.  367. 


366 


UNITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  EACE. 


brain  of  Negroes  and  Europeans,  and  the  anatomical 
investigations  of  Vrolik  and  Weber  on  the  form  of  the 
pelvis.  On  comparing  the  dark-colored  African  nations, 
on  whose  physical  history  the  admirable  work  of 
Prichard  has  thrown  so  much  light,  with  the  races  in¬ 
habiting  the  islands  of  the  South  Indian  and  West  Aus¬ 
tralian  Archipelago,  and  with  the  Papuas  and  Alfour- 
ous,  we  see  that  a  black  skin,  wooly  hair,  and  a  negro¬ 
like  cast  of  countenance  are  not  necessarily  connected 
together.  So  long  only  as  a  portion  of  the  earth  was 
known  to  the  western  nations,  partial  views  necessarily 
predominated,  and  tropical  heat  and  a  black  skin  con¬ 
sequently  appeared  inseparable.”* 

He  then  quotes  approvingly  the  following  passage 
from  Johannes  Muller’s  “  Philosophy  of  Man  ”  : 

“  The  different  races  of  mankind  are  forms  of  one  sole 
species,  by  the  union  of  two  of  whose  members  descend¬ 
ants  are  propagated.  They  are  not  different  species  of 
a  genus,  since  in  that  case,  their  hybrid  descendants 
would  remain  unfruitful.  But  whether  the  human  race 
have  descended  from  several  primitive  races  of  men,  or 
from  one  alone,  is  a  question  which  cannot  be  deter¬ 
mined  by  experience.” 

Again  Humboldt  remarks  :  “  Whilst  we  maintain  the 
unity  of  the  human  species,  we  at  the  same  time  repel 
the  depressing  assumption  of  superior  and  inferior  races 
of  men.  There  are  nations  more  susceptible  of  cultiva¬ 
tion,  more  highly  civilized,  more  ennobled  by  cultivation 
than  others — but  none  in  themselves  nobler  than  others. 
All  are  in  like  degree  designed  for  freedom ;  a  free¬ 
dom  which  in  the  ruder  conditions  of  society  belongs 
only  to  the  individual,  but  which  in  the  social  states 
enjo3dng  political  institutions,  appertains  as  a  right  to 
the  whole  community.” 

*  “  Cosmos,”  vol.  i,  p.  362. 


OUR  COMMON  HUMANITY. 


367 


He  then  proceeds  to  quote  from  his  hardly  less  illus¬ 
trious  brother,  the  following  noble  sentiments  as  to  the 
unfulfilled  aspirations  and  ultimate  hopes  of  man  : 

“  If  we  could  indicate  an  idea  which  throughout  the 
whole  course  of  history,  has  ever  more  and  more  widely 
extended  the  empire,  or  which  more  than  any  other, 
testifies  to  the  much  contested  and  still  more  decidedly 
misunderstood  perfectibility  of  the  whole  human  race, 
it  is  that  of  establishing  our  common  humanity  —  of 
striving  to  remove  the  barriers  which  prejudice  and 
limited  views  of  every  kind  have  erected  amongst  men, 
and  to  treat  all  mankind  without  reference  to  religion, 
nation,  or  color,  as  one  fraternity,  one  great  community, 
fitted  for  the  attainment  of  one  object, — the  unrestrained 
development  of  the  physical  powers.  This  is  the  ulti¬ 
mate  and  highest  aim  of  society,  identical  with  the 
direction  implanted  by  nature  in  the  mind  of  man 
towards  the  indefinite  extension  of  his  existence.  He 
regards  the  earth  in  all  its  limits  and  the  heavens  as  far 
as  his  eye  can  scan  their  bright  and  starry  depths,  as 
inwardly  his  own,  given  to  him  as  the  objects  of  his 
contemplation,  and  as  a  field  for  the  development  of  his 
energies.  Even  the  child  longs  to  pass  the  hills  or  the 
fields  which  enclose  its  narrow  home ;  yet  when  his 
eager  steps  have  borne  him  beyond  those  limits,  he  pines, 
like  the  plant,  for  his  native  soil ;  and  it  is  by  this  touch¬ 
ing  and  beautiful  attribute  of  man  —  this  longing  for 
that  which  is  unknown,  and  this  fond  remembrance  for 
that  which  is  lost — that  he  is  spared  from  an  exclusive 
attachment  to  the  present.  Thus  deeply  rooted  in  the 
innermost  nature  of  man,  and  even  enjoined  upon  him 
by  the  highest  tendencies, —  the  recognition  of  the  bond 
of  humanity  becomes  one  of  the  noblest  leading  prin¬ 
ciples  in  the  history  of  mankind.”  * 

*  “  Cosmos,”  vol.  i,  p.  368. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


OHRONOMETEIC  MEASUREMENTS  APPLIED  TO  TBDE 
.  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN. 

IN  tracing  back  the  Antiquity  of  Man  to  the  earliest 
monuments  which  indicate  his  presence  on  the  earth, 
the  Historic  Period  forms  but  an  inconsiderable  part  in 
the  great  cycle  of  events.  When  we  read  in  Herodotus, 
the  oldest  of  European  historians,  of  populous  nations 
organized  under  stable  governments,  and  possessed  of  a 
knowledge  of  the  arts  which,  in  many  respects,  we  have 
failed  to  improve  upon,  and  when  we  reflect  that  the 
origin  of  these  nations  goes  back  of  all  authentic  tra¬ 
dition,  we  feel  that  there  is  a  void  in  human  history 
which  will  forever  baffle  our  researches  to  penetrate. 
To  use  the  simile  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  “  we  are  like 
children  playing  upon  the  sea -shore,  picking  up  here 
and  there  a  smoother  or  a  prettier  shell,”  while  beyond 
stretches  out  an  expanse  over  which  hang  clouds  and 
impenetrable  darkness. 

The  history  of  man,  as  measured  by  any  chronometric 
scale  at  our  command,  is  exceedingly  vague  ;  as  much 
so  as  if  the  geometrician  were  to  attempt  to  calculate 
the  dimensions  of  a  pyramid  from  the  form  of  its  apex, 
without  knowing  the  length  of  its  base  or  its  per¬ 
pendicular  height.  Whilst  its  angles  may  be  maintained, 
its  expansion  downward  is  an  unknown  quantity. 

368 


ANTIQUITY  OF  THE  MOUND -BUILDERS. 


369 


There  are,  however,  certain  tests  which  may  be  applied 
in  determining  the  relative  antiquity  of  certain  events 
in  human  progress,  which  I  will  proceed  briefly  to  dis¬ 
cuss. 

Antiquity  of  the  Mound  -  builders. —  It  is  evident  that 
the  works  of  these  people  were  constructed  long  after 
the  region  which  they  occupy  had  assumed  its  present 
topographical  features,  and  that  nearly  the  same  condi¬ 
tions  of  soil  and  climate  prevailed  as  are  manifested  at 
the  present  time.  The  lapse  of  a  few  thousand  years  is 
all  the  time  required  to  cover  the  most  ancient  of  their 
structures ;  and  in  attempting  to  estimate  that  antiquity, 
I  am  governed,  perhaps,  as  much  by  the  evidences  which 
they  have  left  of  their  proficiency  in  art,  as  by  physical 
considerations. 

Civilization  is  a  plant  of  slow  growth.  Among  a 
people  cut  off  from  commercial  intercourse  and  sub¬ 
jected,  generation  after  generation,  to  the  same  aspects 
of  nature,  the  increment  would  be  very  slow.  I  have 
seen  growing  in  the  crevices  of  the  rocks  which  gird  to 
so  great  an  extent  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  a  spruce 
tree  whose  trunk  was  no  thicker  than  one’s  thumb,  in 
which,  when  cut  in  cross  section,  the  observer,  aided  by 
a  microscope,  could  detect  annular  rings  which  would 
imply  a  lapse  of  time  equal  to  a  generation  of  men. 
There  it  struggled  year  after  year,  to  maintain  a  pre¬ 
carious  existence  ;  feebly  fructifying,  during  the  short¬ 
lived  summer,  and  taking  in  just  sufficient  of  sustenance 
to  prolong  its  life  during  the  Arctic  interval. 

So  I  have  thought  it  has  been  with  human  progress. 
To  undertake  to  estimate  that  progress  as  manifested  at 
this  day,  when  by  reason  of  steamships  and  railways, 
almost  every  region  of  the  earth  is  laid  open  to  human 
enterprise,  when  machinery  is  silently  performing  what 
z 


370 


CHKONOMBTRIC  MEASUREMENTS. 


would  be  the  labor  of  many  millions  of  men,  and  when 
the  inventions  and  discoveries  of  one  nation  become 
almost  at  once  the  common  property  of  mankind, — would 
be,  as  applied  to  the  past,  no  safe  criterion. 

The  Chinese,  with  their  non-intercourse  policy,  are 
not  probably  farther  advanced  in  civilization  at  this 
time  than  in  the  days  of  Confucius. 

Such  a  civilization  as  that  indicated  by  the  ruins  of 
Central  America,  was  the  growth  of  many  centuries, 
and  yet  these  ruins,  I  am  disposed  to  believe,  are  more 
recent  than  the  mounds  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  To 
some  of  the  evidences  of  their  antiquity  I  will  now 
direct  attention. 

Inferences  drawn  from  the  condition  of  skeletons 
form  no  reliable  guide  as  to  the  lapse  of  time  in  which 
they  have  lain  in  the  earth.  Their  condition  depends, 
to  a  great  extent,  on  the  mechanical  texture  of  the  soil, 
and  the  presence  or  absence  of  antiseptic  properties  held 
in  chemical  solution  by  the  filtrating  waters.  I  may 
remark,  however,  that  where  the  bodies  were  deposited 
in  the  Loess,  the  bones  are  far  better  preserved  than 
where  the  sandy  loam  of  the  river-bottoms  forms  the 
enclosing  material.  The  crania  recovered  from  the 
former  deposit  have  a  good  degree  of  consisteney,  except 
that  the  gelatinous  matter  has  leached  out ;  but  those 
recovered  from  the  latter,  are  so  far  gone  in  decay,  that 
the  utmost  precautions  must  at  once  be  resorted  to, 
such  as  applying  a  solution  of  glue  or  melted  sper¬ 
maceti,  to  prevent  their  crumbling.  Mastodon  bones, 
however,  of  a  much  older  date,  recovered  from  peat 
swamps,  have  so  much  of  the  gelatinous  matter  yet 
remaining  in  them,  that  a  nourishing  soup  might  be 
extracted. 

Sir  John  Lubbock,  in  speaking  of  the  Swiss-lake  habi- 


A2JTIQUITY  OF  THE  MOU2H)  -  BUILDEES.  371 

tations  and  the  relics  found  in  their  midst,  which  are 
supposed  to  have  an  antiquity  varying  all  the  way  from 
4,000  to  7,000  years,  remarks  that  “  when  for  the  first 
time  I  saw  them  through  the  transparent  water  —  the 
remnants  of  piles  with  fragments  of  bone,  horn,  and  pot¬ 
tery  lying  among  them, —  a  momentary  feeling  of  doubt 
as  to  their  age  rose  in  my  mind.  So  fresh  are  they,  and 
so  unaltered,  they  look  as  if  they  were  only  things  of 
yesterday,  and  it  seems  hard  to  believe  that  they  can 
have  remained  there  for  centuries.”  * 

So,  too,  upon  bones  invested  with  stalagmite,  we  can 
imagine  the  lapse  of  centuries  would  have  no  perceptible 
effect. 

The  human  skeleton,  found  in  the  solid  limestone  on 
the  island  of  Guadaloupe,  is  probably  of  very  recent 
origin,  inasmuch  as  the  materials  of  this  limestone  are 
made  up  of  fragments  of  sea-shells  and  corals,  cast  upon 
the  shore  by  the  retiring  waves  containing  a  cement  in 
the  form  of  carbonate  of  lime,  which  rapidly  consolidates. 

The  character  of  the  arborescent  vegetation  found 
covering  the  works  of  the  Mound-builders  maybe  taken 
to  some  extent,  but  not  absolutely,  as  a  chronometric 
scale  in  estimating  the  time  which  has  elapsed  since 
their  abandonment.  This  vegetation  in  character  and 
in  development  differs  in  no  respect  from  that  of  the 
surrounding  forest.  When,  therefore,  we  see  growing 
upon  the  mounds  trees  whose  annular  rings  indicate  an 
age  of  four  or  five  centuries,  and  the  decaying  trunks 
of  others  which  flourished  on  the  same  sites,  and  have 
perished  from  natural  causes,  we  are  justified  in  infer¬ 
ring  that  these  works  could  not  have  been  occupied 
within  the  period  of  six  or  eight  centuries ;  but  as  to 
the  time  when  they  were  abandoned  we  have  no  certain 
criterion  to  guide  us. 


*“  Pre-historic  Times,”  p.  tRj 


372 


CHRONOMETKIC  MEASUREMENTS. 


Schoolcraft  has  erroneously  assumed  that  the  age  of 
these  trees  marks  the  entire  lapse  of  time  which  has 
intervened  since  the  happening  of  that  event.  Thus, 
in  reference  to  the  antiquity  of  the  great  mound  at 
Grave  Creek,  he  remarks  ;  “The  cortical  layers,  counted 
in  the  mature  and  heavy  forest  trees,  denoted  its  com¬ 
pletion  to  have  been  at,  or  soon  after,  the  twelfth  cen¬ 
tury,  but  there  is  no  proof  that  it  had  been  commenced 
centuries  earlier.”  And  again  ;  “  These  data  indicate 
parts  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  as  the 
active  period  of  tumult  among  the  Mississippi  Valley 
tribes.”* 

While  I  have  not  made  the  study  of  the  longevity 
of  our  forest  trees  a  specialty,  I  had,  from  general  ob¬ 
servation,  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  five  or  six  cen¬ 
turies  would  mark  the  extreme  age  of  those  species  ordin¬ 
arily  found  growing  on  the  mounds  and  on  the  rubbish 
heaps  thrown  up  in  mining  operations,  and  that  there 
was  no  evidence  to  disprove  the  belief  that  successive 
generations  of  trees  might  not  have  sprung  up,  flour¬ 
ished,  and  died  on  the  same  sites.  To  test  the  correct¬ 
ness  of  my  own  conclusions  in  this  matter,  I  applied 
for  information  to  our  distinguished  botanist,  Dr.  Asa 
Gray,  and  from  his  letter  in  response  I  make  the  fol¬ 
lowing  extracts : 

“  There  is  no  sense  at  all,  that  I  see,  in  Schoolcraft’s 
notion  that  the  age  of  the  trees  now  growing  on  the 
mounds  is  a  measure  of  the  time  which  has  elapsed 
since  their  abandonment.  All  it  tells  is,  that  they  were 
already  abandoned  when  these  trees  began  to  grow ; 
quite  as  likely  that  one,  two,  or  more  generations  of 
these  same  trees  grew  there  before  the  present  ones 
necessarily  flourished  and  decayed.  Also,  they  may 

*  “History  and  Condition  of  North  American  Indians,’’ vol.  v,  p.  6i. 


LONGEVITY  OF  TREES. 


373 


have  been  preceded  by  other  trees  of  other  species, 
and  that  without  involving  any  sensible  change  of  cli¬ 
mate,  just  as  we  see  pines  succeed  oaks,  and  vice  versa. 
This  occurs  after  a  wholesale  destruction  of  a  tree- 
growth  at  a  given  locality,  to  be  sure  ;  but  that  may 
have  occurred  through  fires,  and  these  may  have  re¬ 
peatedly  swept  the  ground  at  any  station,  either 
through  human  agency  or  the  action  of  the  elements 
without  it.  Hemlocks  are  not  long-lived  trees,  and 
balsam-firs  still  less  ;  but  what  we  see  on  any  hill-side 
in  untouched  hemlock  and  fir-woods,  decayed  and  de¬ 
caying  trunks  under  foot,  and  trees  of  various  ages 
overhead,  slowly  dying  off  one  by  one,  toppled  by 
winds,  and  younger  ones  now  getting  a  better  chance, 
taking  their  place,  to  fall  in  their  turn ;  just  this,  I  sup¬ 
pose  we  might  have  seen  four  or  six  hundred,  or  per¬ 
haps  a  thousand  years  ago,  had  we  been  there  to  see. 

“  Many  species  of  trees  may  be  said  to  have  a  certain 
average  attainable  age,  answering  to  our  ‘  threescore 
and  ten,’  but  just  as  some  of  our  race,  ‘  by  reason  of 
strength  ’  and  ‘  good  luck,’  may  much  exceed  that  limit, 
so  may  any  given  tree.” 

Trees,  then,  growing  upon  the  mounds,  by  the  num¬ 
ber  of  cortical  layers  displayed  in  their  trunks,  do  not 
afford  a  chronometric  scale  by  which  to  estimate  the 
absolute  lapse  of  time  since  their  abandonment.* 

*  Since  the  text  was  prepared,  I  have  received,  in  response  to  my  in¬ 
quiries,  the  following  valuable  communication  from  Dr.  I.  A.  Lapham, 
of  Milwaukee  : 

Age  ok  Forest  Trees  in  Wisconsin. — By  placing  the  edge  of  a  sheet 
of  paper  across  a  newly-felled  tree,  in  the  direction  of  the  radius,  one 
may  with  a  sharp  pencil  mark  the  thickness  of  the  several  annual  rings 
of  growth  ;  and  by  measuring  a  number  of  such  rings  we  may  find  the 
average  increase  of  wood  each  year.  It  was  thus  that  the  items  were 
collected  for  the  following  table,  showing  the  number  of  rings  measured. 


374 


CHRONOJIETRIC  MEASUREMENTS. 


Indian  traditions. —  Little  credence  is  to  be  attached 
to  Indian  traditions ;  and  yet  so  far  as  those  traditions 
go,  they  are  to  the  effect  that  the  Mound-builders  were 


their  aggregate  width,  the  average  annual  growth  thus  found,  and  the 
number  of  years  required  for  an  increase  of  one  foot  in  diameter,  of  a 
number  of  our  common  forest  trees  : 


Growth  of  Native  Forest  Trees  of  Wisconsin. 


Names. 

No.  of  rings 

measured. 

!  Width  in 

inches. 

Growth  in 

one  year, 

inches.  I 

No.  of  years 

for  one  foot  j 

of  growth. 

Basswood  (  Tilia  Americana)  .... . . . 

<)4 

5.70 

.1212 

99 

Sugar  Maple  (Acer  saccharimim) _ 

83 

2.45 

.1166 

103 

Wild  Cherry  (Frunus  seroiina) _ 

44 

2.03 

.0922 

130 

White  Ash  (Fi-ajcinus  Americana) _ 

172 

10.09 

.1172 

102 

Elm  (Ubnus  Americana) _ 

179 

9-45 

.1056 

114 

White  Oak  (Quercus  alba) _ _ 

160 

9.00 

.1124 

107 

Burr  Oak  (Quercus  macrocarpa) _ 

12 

0.60 

.1000 

120 

Red  Oak  (Quercus  rubra) _ _ 

62 

6.90 

.2226 

54 

Beech  (Fagus  ferruginea) . . . 

160 

9-45 

.1180 

102 

Yellow  Birch  (Be tula  excelsa) _ _ 

20 

1.28 

.1280 

94 

White  Pine  (Finns  strobus) _ _ 

60 

5-40 

.1800 

67 

Hemlock  (.4 foVf  Canadensis) _ _ _ 

42 

3-72 

.1770 

68 

Tamarack  (Larix  Americana) _ _ 

192 

12.95 

■1344 

89 

White  Cedar  (Thuja  occidentalis) _ _  . 

[Fossil  wood.  Pike’s  Peak,  Coniferoe) _ 

Mean  (omitting  the  last) .  . 

82 

4.00 

.0976 

123 

83 

8.80 

.2120 

98 

A  more  thorough  and  systematic  investigation  of  the  annual  growth 
of  trees  would  lead  to  results  of  greater  certainty  ;  but  the  measure¬ 
ments  already  made  and  embodied  in  this  table  are  sufficient  to  show 
that  there  cannot  be  any  great  age  assigned  to  the  average  trees  of  our 
present  forests. 

It  will  be  seen  that  it  requires  the  lapse  of  from  fifty-four  to  one 
hundred  and  thirty  years  for  trees  to  increase  their  diameter  one  foot, 
and  with  the  average  of  the  trees  measured  the  time  is  less  than  one 
hundred  years.  Three  or  four  feet  diameter  is  a  large  tree ;  few  exceed 
that  size  ;  and  hence  we  may  infer  that  few  of  the  trees  now  growing  in 
Wisconsin  can  antedate  the  discovery  of  this  continent  by  Columbus. 
An  occasional  tree  exceeds  these  dimensions,  but  they  are  exceedingly 
rare.  Perhaps  the  largest  and  oldest  tree  in  the  State  is  the  one  noted 
by  the  Government  .surveyor  near  Manitowoc,  a  white  cedar  twenty-two 
feet  in  circumference.  By  the  table  it  will  be  seen  that  this  tree  is  one 
of  the  slowest  growth,  requiring  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  years  to 


INDIAN  TRADITIONS. 


375 


a  distinct  race  from  themselves.  Whilst  the  Indians 
are  notoriously  superstitious  and  invent  legends  which 
they  attach  to  almost  every  unusual  aspect  of  nature, 
with  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  mounds  their  statements 
are  uniform,  that  their  antiquity  reaches  hack  to  a 
period  beyond  the  memory  of  their  ancestors  who  saw 
them  as  they  see  them,  reposing  in  an  unbroken  solitude, 
and  shaded  by  an  apparently  primeval  forest.  I  would 
not  make  these  traditions  the  basis  of  an  argument  for 
the  high  antiquity  of  these  works ;  for  among  a  people 
who  have  no  written  language,  the  lapse  of  a  few  gene¬ 
rations  would  obliterate  all  knowledge  even  of  the  most 
signal  events.* 

add  one  foot  to  its  diameter.  Seven  times  this  quantity,  or  eight  hundred 
and  sixty  years,  is  therefore  the  age  of  this  exceptionally  large  tree. 

Further  south,  where  trees  attain  a  larger  size,  they  have  had,  at  the 
same  time,  owing  to  the  more  genial  climate  and  more  fertile  soil,  a  much 
more  rapid  growth,  so  that  they  probably  do  not  exceed  the  trees  of  Wis¬ 
consin  in  age. 

There  can  be  no  means  of  determining  how  many  successive  forests 
may  have  preceded  the  present,  and  occupied  the  soil  since  any  given 
epoch,  as  that  of  the  Mound-builders — all  traces  of  the  former  trees 
having  been  long  since  effaced.  A  few  years  suffice  to  convert  a  fallen 
trunk  into  humus  that  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  other  portions 
of  the  accumulating  soil. 

Having  recently  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  some  fossil  wood 
of  the  so-called  petrified  forest  near  Pike’s  Peak,  Colorado,  brought 
home  by  Mrs.  L.  E.  Hewitt,  whose  beautiful  paintings  of  the  Alpine 
scenery  of  that  region  are  so  much  admired,  I  am  able  to  compare  the 
growth  of  the  Coniferous  wood  of  Tertiary  times  with  that  of  the  present 
day.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  growth  was  then  equal  to  the  more  rapid¬ 
growing  trees  of  our  own  times.  The  remains  of  the  base  of  one  of 
these  ancient  fossil  trees  was  measured,  and  found  to  have  a  circumfer¬ 
ence  of  fifty-nine  feet,  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  largest  of  the  big  trees 
of  California.  The  time  required  for  the  growth  of  this  tree,  supposing 
the  section  measured  to  be  an  average  of  the  whole,  was  more  than  a 
thousand  years. 

*  Sir  John  Lubbock  (“  Pre-historic  Times,”  p.  425)  has  shown  that  the 
New  Zealanders,  when  visited  by  Captain  Cook,  had  no  knowledge  of 


376 


CHRONOMETRIC  MEASUREMENTS. 


The  gorge  of  Niagara. —  This  gorge,  in  the  rate  of  its 
excavation,  since  first  observed  by  Hennepin,  affords 
data  for  approximately  estimating  the  length  of  time 
which  has  elapsed  since  the  region  assumed  nearly  its 
present  topographical  features,  or  rather,  perhaps,  since 
existing  causes  began  to  operate. 

Professor  James  Hall*  was  the  first  to  discuss  the 
phenomena  here  exhibited,  and  subsequently  Sir  Charles 
Lyell,  Desor,  Hitchcock,  and  other  geologists  passed 
over  the  same  field ;  and  while  they  all  agree  as  to  the 
immense  period  required  to  excavate  this  gorge,  as  com¬ 
pared  with  the  Historic  Epoch,  they  differ  widely  as  to 
the  chronometric  scale  to  be  applied. 

The  present  position  of  the  Falls  is  six  and  one-half 
miles  from  Lake  Ontario,  at  Lewiston.  Through  the 
whole  of  this  distance  the  river  is  confined  within  a 
rocky  gorge  three  hundred  feet  deep  at  its  mouth,  and 
one  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  where  the  cataract  leaps 
over  the  ledge.  The  formations  cut  through  are  the 
Niagara  limestone,  forming  the  rim,  and  the  least 
destructible  of  the  series  ;  the  Clinton  group  ;  and  the 
Medina  sandstone.  The  dip  of  the  strata  is  about 
fifteen  feet  to  the  mile,  up  stream,  or  fn  the  direction  of 
Lake  Erie.  The  present  scarp  of  the  Falls  is  made  up 
of  eighty  feet  of  limestone,  with  about  the  same  thick¬ 
ness  of  shale  beneath  ;  and  the  process  of  excavation  is 
accomplished  by  the  eddying  waters  undermining  and 
carrying  away  the  friable  shales,  so  that  the  incumbent 


Tasman’s  visit,  which  occurred  less  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  years 
before.  The  Indians  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  after  the  lapse  of  a  few 
generations,  had  lost  all  tradition  of  De  Soto’s  expedition,  which  must 
have  impressed  their  ancestors  with  dread  at  the  sight  of  horses  ridden  by 
men,  and  the  sound  of  fire-arms  which  they  must  have  likened  to  thunder. 

*  “Geology  of  the  Fourth  District  of  New  York,’’  p.  389. 


GORGE  OF  NIAGARA. 


377 


limestone,  deprived  of  support,  plunges  into  the  chasm 
in  large  masses. 

On  both  sides  of  the  Whirlpool,  three  miles  below 
the  Falls,  and  also  on  Goat  Island  above,  there  are 
deposits  of  Modified  Drift,  containing  fresh-water  shells 
such  as  Unios,  Melanias,  and  Paludinas — forms  which 
are  common  to  the  still  waters  near  the  lake,  but  which 
are  not  found  in  the  rapid  waters  of  the  river.  In  this 
connection  was  found  a  tooth  of  the  common  masto¬ 
don,  M.  giganteus.  These  facts  indicate  that  this  deposit 
was  formed  in  comparatively  quiet  waters,  and  at  a 
time  when  the  topographical  features  were  different 
from  what  are  now  observed.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
that  the  present  channel  of  the  river  has  been  excavated 
since  the  epoch  of  the  Modified  Drift,  which  forced  the 
waters  to  find  an  outlet  over  their  present  rocky  bed, 
instead  of  accommodating  themselves  to  the  more 
readily -yielding  Drift  materials. 

Over  a  rocky  plateau,  then,  the  Falls  have  been  reced¬ 
ing  since  the  epoch  of  the  Modified  Drift,  until  they 
have  now  reached  a  distance  of  six  and  one-half  miles 
from  the  debouche  into  Lake  Ontario.  Hall  and  Lyell 
estimated  the  recession  at  the  average  rate  of  a  foot  a 
year,  but  Desor  inferred  that  it  was  more  nearly  three 
feet  a  century  than  three  feet  a  year.  '  Taking  the  esti¬ 
mate  of  the  former,  the  lapse  of  time  since  the  Falls 
commenced  their  recession  from  Lake  Ontario,  would 
amount  to  more  than  31,000  years  ;  and  the  estimate  of 
the  latter  would  require  380,000  years.*  At  all  events, 
the  Historic  Era  forms  but  an  inconsiderable  portion 
in  the  duration  of  time  since  the  deposit  was  thrown 
down,  in  which  the  remains  of  the  mastodon  were 
entombed. 

*“Les  Cascades  du  Niagara,  par  E.  Desor."  Neuchatel,  1854. 


378 


CHRONOMETEIC  MEASUREMENTS. 


Astronomical  changes  within  the  Human  Period. — 
That  there  have  been  cycles  of  heat  and  cold  in  our 
earth’s  history,  within  the  Human  Period,  and  embrac¬ 
ing  long  durations  of  time,  is  attested  by  many  geological 
monuments.  Physicists,  at  this  day,  in  speculating 
on  the  causes  of  these  cycles,  are  disposed  to  trace  them 
to  an  astronomical,  rather  than  a  telluric  origin.  To 
these  views  I  directed  attention  on  another  occasion.* 

We  are  assured  that  ours  is  not  a  central  sun,  but 
one  in  the  great  procession  of  stars  which  is  sweeping 
towards  the  constellation  Hercules  ;  and  that  in  the 
region  of  ether  there  are  spaces  which  are  comparatively 
barren  of  stars,  while  in  others  they  are  thickly  clus¬ 
tered.  Now  every  star  is  a  sun,  emitting  light  and  heat, 
a  portion  of  which  is  transmitted  to  us.  Our  planet  at 
this  time  is  moving  through  one  of  those  starless  spaces, 
and  therefore  is  not  in  a  position  to  receive  the  full 
influence  of  such  a  cause.  The  distinguished  Swiss 
botanist  Heer,  to  whom  we  are  so  largely  indebted  for 
our  knowledge  of  the  semitropical  character  of  Mio¬ 
cene  flora,  has  suggested  that  it  is  to  this  source, 
rather  than  telluric  causes,  we  are  to  resort  to 
explain  the  varying  distribution  of  temperature  as 
manifested  in  past  geological  times.  But  to  this 
view  objections  have  been  raised, — that  to  produce 
glaciers,  heat,  as  well  as  cold,  is  required.  “It  is  per¬ 
fectly  manifest,”  remarks  Professor  Tyndall,  “  that  by 
weakening  the  sun’s  action,  either  through  a  defect  of 
emission,  or  by  steeping  of  the  entire  solar  system  in 
space  of  a  low  temperature,  we  shall  be  cutting  off  the 
glaciers  at  their  sources.”  f 

*  Address  on  retiring  from  the  Presidency  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science;  Nineteenth  Meeting  (Troy),  1870. 

i  “  Heat  considered  as  a  Mode  of  Motion." 


THE  GREAT  YEAR. 


379 


Again :  Have  we  the  right  to  assume  that,  through¬ 
out  all  past  ages,  the  poles  of  our  planet  have  pointed 
in  the  same  direction?  We  can  conceive  that,  if  its 
axis  were  to  form  with  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic,  the 
same  angle  which  it  now  forms  with  the  equatorial 
plane,  there  would  ensue  an  entire  change  of  climate, 
and  consequently  of  organic  forms.  Why  should  the 
astronomer  insist  on  the  immutability  of  the  sidereal 
system,  when  to  the  geologist  is  unfolded  a  record  of 
seas  displaced  and  continents  elevated ;  of  great  cycles 
of  heat  and  cold ;  of  the  disappearance  of  old  and  the 
appearance  of  new  forms  of  organic  life  ?  Change,  not 
constancy,  is  inscribed  on  every  leaf  in  the  volume  of 
Nature. 

The  speculations  of  the  French  savant,  Adhemar,* 
in  explanation  of  these  phenomena,  are  not  to  be  over¬ 
looked,  based  as  they  are  on  the  precession  of  the  equi¬ 
noxes  and  the  movement  of  the  apsides, —  a  movement 
which,  I  believe,  was  unknown  to  the  elder  astrono¬ 
mers.  If  we  compare  the  movement  of  the  earth  with 
the  stars,  it  requires  the  lapse  of  25,000  years  to  bring 
the  equinox  to  correspond  with  the  same  point  in  space 
it  now  occupies ;  but  the  orbit  itself  being  movable, 
this  period  is  reduced  to  about  21,000  years.  This  is 
called  the  Great  Year,  being  the  measure  of  time  before 
the  winter  solstice  will  exactly  coincide  with  the  peri¬ 
helion,  and  the  summer  solstice  with  the  aphelion,  and 
before  the  seasons  will  again  harmonize  with  the  same 
points  of  the  terrestrial  orbit. t 

*  “  Revolutions  de  la  Mer,”  J.  Adhemar. 

f  “  The  mean  value  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes  on  the  fixed 
ecliptic,  and  also  on  the  apparent  ecliptic,  in  a  Julian  year,  is  equal  to 
50.'438239  ;  whence  it  follows  that  the  equinoxes  perform  a  complete 
revolution  in  the  average  interval  of  25,694.8  years  ;  but  on  account  of 
the  secular  inequalities  in  their  motion,  the  time  of  their  revolution  is 


380 


CHRONOMETRIC  MEASUREMENTS. 


The  earth  at  this  time  approaches  nearest  the  sun  in 
the  northern  hemisphere  during  autumn  and  winter, 
and  it  is  only  when  it  recedes  the  farthest  from  the 
source  of  heat  that  the  northern  hemisphere  receives 
the  full  effect  of  its  vivifying  warmth.  As  the  earth 
between  the  vernal  and  autumnal  equinox  traverses  a 
longer  circuit  than  during  the  other  half  of  the  year, 
and  also  experiences  an  accelerated  movement  as  it 
draws  near  the  sun,  the  result  is,  that  the  northern 
summer  is  longer  than  the  southern  by  about  eight 
days ;  but  after  the  lapse  of  10,500  years  these  condi¬ 
tions  will  be  reversed.  It  was  in  the  year  1248,  ac¬ 
cording  to  M.  Adh4mar,  that  the  Great  Northern  Sum¬ 
mer  culminated,  since  which  time  it  has  continued  to 
decrease,  and  that  decrease  will  go  on  until  the  year 
11748,  when  it  will  have  attained  its  minimum. 

This  compound  movement,  the  precession  of  the 
equinoxes  and  the  shifting  of  the  line  of  the  apsides, 
it  is  claimed,  exerts  a  marked  influence  on  the  earth’s 
temperature.  While  the  Great  Winter  prevails  at  the 
north  pole,  the  refrigeration  is  so  excessive  that  the 
heats  of  summer  are  insufficient  to  melt  the  snow  and 
ice  precipitated  during  the  winter,  and  hence,  year  after 
year,  and  century  after  century,  they  go  on  accumu¬ 
lating,  until  the  Circumpolar  region  is  in  a  state  of 
glaciation,  and  the  added  weight  becomes  sufficient  to 
displace  the  centre  of  gravity,  which  would  be  equiva¬ 
lent  to  a  subsidence  at  one  pole  and  an  elevation  at  the 
other.  M.  Adh^mar  has  even  calculated  the  extent  of 
this  movement,  and  states  that  it  would  amount  to  about 
5,500  feet.  Now  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  Professor 

not  always  the  same,  but  may  differ  from  the  mean  time  of  revolution  by 
281.2  years.’  (Stockwell,  on  “  Secular  Variations,’’ p.xii.  “Smithsonian 
Contributions.”) 


THE  GREAT  WINTER. 


381 


Ramsey  has  shown  that  in  Wales  the  submergence  of 
the  land  during  the  Drift  Epoch  amounted  to  2,300 
feet,  and  our  own  observations  show  that  in  the  northern 
portions  of  the  United  States  the  glacial  action  proper 
can  be  traced  to  the  height  of  2,000  feet,  although 
there  were  mountains  which  served  as  radiating  cen¬ 
tres,  on  whose  flanks  glacial  action  may  be  traced  much 
higher.  These  geographical  points,  roughly  estimated, 
are  about  midway  between  the  equator  and  the  pole, 
and  the  extent  of  the  subsidence  would  correspond 
very  well  with  the  conditions  of  this  theory. 

In  the  year  1248  the  Great  Winter  terminated  at  the 
south  pole,  where  for  10,500  years  the  accumulation 
of  snow  and  ice  had  been  going  on,  attended  with  the 
phenomena  which  we  have  described.  “  Here,  then,” 
says  M.  Julien,  an  advocate  of  this  theory,  “is  an  irre¬ 
sistible  force,  which,  following  the  invariable  law  of 
the  irregular  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  must  make 
the  earth’s  centre  of  gravity  periodically  oscillate.” 

As  evidences  of  the  shifting  of  vast  amounts  of  water 
from  one  pole  to  the  other,  the  advocates  of  this  theory 
point  to  the  marked  differences  in  the  topographical 
features  of  the  two  hemispheres.  In  the  Austral  region 
we  meet  with  projecting  headlands  and  peninsula-like 
terminations  of  continents,  and  groups  and  chains  of 
islands  in  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans  extending  over 
vast  areas,  which  rise  up  like  the  peaks  and  crests  of 
mountains.  These  are  the  evidences  of  a  gradually 
engulfed  hemisphere.  In  the  Boreal  region  we  have 
wide  expanses  of  land  diversified  by  mountains,  prairies, 
and  plains  ;  elevated  sea-beaches  and  river -terraces, 
most  conspicuously  displayed  on  the  borders  of  the 
Arctic  Sea ;  vast  oceanic  shoals ;  a  marine  fauna  of  a 
northern  type  preserved  in  beds  1400  feet  above  the 


382 


CHRONOMETEIC  MEASUREMENTS. 


ocean  level ;  clusters  of  lakes  yet  retaining  their  bitter 
waters ;  shallow  seas  once  salt,  but  each  decade  becom¬ 
ing  more  brackish ;  vast  desert  tracts  which  up  to  a  recent 
time  formed  the  ocean-bed;  —  all  these  phenomena,  of 
which  man  has  been  the  witness,  indicate  a  hemisphere 
gradually  emerging  from  the  waters.  Perhaps  the 
physicist  can  discern  in  these  great  periodic  oscillations, 
the  method  by  which  Nature  perpetually  renews  the 
youth  of  our  planet,  and  maintains  its  fertility. 

Sir  Charles  Lyell  does  not  think  that  this  change, 
which  he  claims  could  hardly  produce  more  than  a  dif¬ 
ference  of  half  a  degree  between  the  cold  of  the  present 
winter  and  that  of  1248,  would  be  appreciable,  and  adds 
that  the  whole  effect  which  can  be  produced  by  secular 
astronomical  changes  must  always  be  subordinate  to 
geographical  conditions  ;  and  Sir  John  Herschel  is  very 
far  from  supposing  it  competent  to  account  for  so  great 
an  alteration.  The  effect,  however,  increases  with  the 
excentricity  of  the  earth’s  orbit,  which  shows  variations, 
within  the  last  million  of  years,  sufficient  to  produce 
marked  changes  of  climate.  Mr.  Croll,  in  a  series  of 
papers  in  the  “Edinburgh  New  Philosophical  Maga¬ 
zine,”  has  elaborately  discussed  this  question,  and,  in 
connection  with  Mr.  Stone,  has  calculated  that  excen¬ 
tricity  for  the  last  million  of  years.  He  infers  that  a 
glacial  period  occurs  when  the  excentricity  is  at  its 
maximum,  and  the  solstices  fall  when  the  earth  is  in 
perihelio  and  in  aphelio ;  and  that  only  one  hemisphere 
has  a  glacial  climate  at  the  same  time,  which  occurs 
when  the  winter  is  in  aphelio.  Mr.  John  Garrick  Moore 
published  a  little  work  a  few  years  ago,  in  which, 
adopting  the  table  of  Croll  as  to  the  excentricity  of  the 
earth’s  orbit,  he  added  its  difference  of  distance  in 
millions  of  miles  from  the  sun  ;  the  number  of  days  by 


EXCENTRICITY  OF  EARTH’S  ORBIT. 


383 


which  winter,  occurring  in  aphelion,  is  longer  than  the 
summer  in  perihelion ;  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
hottest  summer  month  in  the  latitude  of  London  when 
the  summer  occurs  in  perihelion  ;  and  that  of  the  cold¬ 
est  winter  month  in  the  same  latitude,  when  the  winter 
occurs  in  aphehon. 


Table  showing  the  variations  in  the  excentricity  of  the 
earth's  orbit  for  a  million  of  years  before  A.  D.  1800,  and 
some  of  the  elimatal  effects  of  such  variations. 


Number  of  years  before  a.d.  1800. 

Excentricity  of  orbit. 

1  Difference  of  distance  in  millions 

1  of  miles. 

j  Number  of  winter  days  in  excess. 

1  Mean  of  hottest  month  in  latitude 
of  London. 

1  1 

1  Mean  of  coldest  month  in  latitude 

1  of  London. 

1,000,000 

.0151 

23/ 

7-3 

83  °  F. 

21  °  F. 

D 

950,000 

•0517 

qX 

251 

109  ° 

3  “ 

900,000 

.0102 

iX 

4-9 

80  “ 

23  ° 

(  a 

850,000 

.0747 

36.4 

126  ° 

7  ° 

cn 

800,000 

.0132 

6.4 

82  ° 

22  ° 

750,000 

•0575 

loyi 

27.8 

113  » 

0  °  6 

700,000 

.0220 

4 

10.2 

87  ° 

17  ° 

650,000 

.0226 

4 

II 

88  “ 

16  " 

600,000 

.0417 

lYz 

20.3 

loi  °9 

7  °9 

5=;o,ooo 

.0166 

3 

8 

84° 

20  "" 

500,000 

.0388 

7 

18.8 

99  ^ 

9  ° 

450,000 

.0308 

s'A 

15 

94  ° 

13  ° 

400,000 

.0170 

3 

8.2 

84  “ 

20  ** 

350,000 

.0195 

31^ 

9-5 

86  ° 

18  ° 

300,000 

.0424 

7H 

20.6 

102  ° 

7  ° 

250,000 

.0258 

4/^ 

12.5 

90  ° 

15  ° 

210,000 

•0575 

lo'A 

27.8 

113  ° 

o°7 

200,000 

.0567 

lO'X 

27.7 

113  ° 

I  °9 

1 50,000 

■0332 

6 

16. I 

95  ° 

12  ® 

100,000 

.0473 

^'A 

23 

105 » 

5  ^ 

A 

50,000 

.0131 

2^ 

6.3 

82  ° 

22  ® 

0 

.0168 

3 

8.1 

84“ 

20  ° 

384 


CHKONOMETKIC  MEASUREMENTS. 


Mr.  Stockwell  *  has  computed  the  excentricity  of  the 
earth’s  orbit,  at  intervals  of  10,000.  years,  during  a 
period  of  2,000,000  years,  by  employing  the  constants 
which  correspond  to  the  assumed  mass  of  the  earth 
increased  by  its  twentieth  part,  and  finds  that  it  will 
always  be  included  within  the  limit  of  0  and  0.0693888. 
He  explains  how  the  climate  can  be  modified  by  this 
excentricity.  “  At  present,”  he  remarks,  “  the  sun  is 
north  of  the  equator  scarcely  186^  days,  and  south  of 
the  same  circle  about  178|  days;  thus  making  a  dif¬ 
ference  of  7|  days  between  the  length  of  the  summer 
and  winter ;  but  when  the  excentricity  of  the  orbit  is 
nearly  at  its  maximum,  and  its  transverse  axis  also 
passes  through  the  solstices,  both  of  which  conditions 
have  in  past  ages  been  fulfilled,  the  summer  in  one 
hemisphere  will  have  a  period  of  198|  days,  and  the 
winter  of  only  166J  days,  while  in  the  other  hemisphere 
these  conditions  will  be  reversed, —  the  winter  having  a 
period  of  198|  days,  and  the  summer  of  only  166^  days. 
The  variations  of  the  sun’s  distance  from  the  earth  in 
the  course  of  a  year,  at  such  times,  are  also  enormous, 
amounting  almost  to  one-seventh  part  of  its  mean  dis¬ 
tance, —  a  quantity  scarcely  less  than  13,000,000  miles. ’’f 
Perhaps  the  fluctuations  in  climate  resulting  from  this 
cause  will  account  for  the  presence  of  the  remains  of 
the  hippopotamus  and  African  elephant  in  Europe,  and 
of  the  megatherium  and  megalonyx  in  the  lower  lati¬ 
tudes  of  the  United  States. 

Recurring  to  the  table,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are 
four  periods  marked  A,  B,  c,  D,  in  which  there  has 

*  “  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  No.  232.”  “  Memoir 

on  the  Secular  Variation  of  the  Elements  of  the  Orbits  of  the  Eight 
Principal  Planets,”  etc.,  by  John  N.  Stockwell.  1872. 

J  “  Introduction,”  xiii. 


EXOENTRICITY  OF  EARTH’S  ORBIT. 


385 


been  a  large  excentricity  of  the  earth’s  orbit,  and  con¬ 
sequently  attended  with  excessive  variations  in  the 
climate.  The  periods  marked  A  and  B,  200,000  and 
210,000  years  ago,  are  considered  by  Mr.  Croll  and  Sir 
John  Lubbock  sufficiently  remote  to  embrace  all  the 
geological  changes,  as  well  as  the  variations  in  the  range 
and  distribution  of  aquatic  and  terrestrial  animals  since 
the  dawn  of  the  Glacial  Epoch;  but  Sir  Charles  Lyell 
would  rather  go  back  to  the  periods  marked  c  and  D, 
representing  800,000  and  950,000  years,  as  affording 
the  necessary  conditions  to  explain  the  varying  phe¬ 
nomena  which  characterize  the  later  phases  in  the 
physical  history  of  our  planet. 

AA 


bit. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


That  the  reader  may  comprehend  the  condition  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  when  first  known  to 
the  European,  I  append  extracts  from  early  historians. 

A. 

CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  SEA  -  BOARD. 

Cotton  Mather,  in  his  Life  of  Elliot,  thus  describes  their 
condition  :  “  Know,  then,  that  these  doleful  creatures  are  the 
veriest  ruins  of  mankind  which  are  to  be  found  on  the  face 
of  the  earth.  No  such  estates  are  to  be  expected  a^ong 
them,  as  have  been  the  baits  which  the  pretended  converts  in 
other  countries  have  snapped  at.  One  might  see  among 
them  what  an  hard  master  the  devil  is  to  the  most  devoted 
of  his  vassals.  These  abject  creatures  live  in  a  country  full 
of  mines.  Among  us  there  lies  copper  [probably  iron  pyrites] 
enough  to  supply  the  world,  besides  other  mines  to  be  here¬ 
after  explored.  But  our  shiftless  Indians  were  never  the 
owner  of  so  much  as  a  knife  till  we  came  among  them. 
Their  name  for  an  Englishman  was  a  knife-nian.  Stone  was 
used,  instead  of  metal,  for  their  tools,  and  for  coins  they  had 
only  little  beads  with  holes  in  them. 

“  They  live  in  a  country  where  we  now  have  all  the  con¬ 
veniences  of  human  life.  But  as  for  them,  their  housing  is 
but  a  few  mats  tied  about  poles  fastened  in  the  earth,  where 
a  good  fire  is  their  bed-clothes  in  the  coldest  seasons.  Their 
clothing  is  but  the  skin  of  a  beast,  covering  their  hind  parts, 
their  fore  parts  having  a  little  apron  where  nature  calls  for 

B80 


390 


APPENDIX. 


secrecy.  Their  diet  has  not  a  greater  dainty  than  their 
nokchick,  that  is,  a  spoonful  of  their  parched  meal,  with  a 
spoonful  of  water,  which  will  strengthen  them  to  travel  a  day 
together,  except  we  should  mention  the  flesh  of  deers,  bears, 
moose,  raccoons,  and  the  like,  which  they  have  when  they  can 
catch  them ;  as  also  a  little  fish,  which  if  they  would  pre¬ 
serve,  ’t  was  by  drying,  not  by  salting,  for  they  had  not  a  grain 
of  salt  in  the  world,  I  think,  till  we  bestowed  it  upon 
them. 

“  They  live  in  a  country  full  of  the  best  ship-timber  under 
heaven,  but  never  saw  a  ship  till  some  came  from  Europe 
hither.  .  .  They  cross  the  water  in  canoes,  made  some¬ 

times  of  trees,  which  they  burn  and  hew  till  they  have  hol¬ 
lowed  them ;  and  sometimes  of  barks,  which  they  stitch  into 
a  light  sort  of  vessel,  to  be  carried  easily  overland. 

“  Their  way  of  living  is  infinitely  barbarous  ;  the  men  are 
most  abominally  slothful,  making  their  poor  squaws  or  wives 
to  plant,  and  dress,  and  beat  their  corn,  and  build  their  wig- 
wama  for  them.  .  . 

“  They  ’ll  continue  in  a  place  till  they  have  burnt  up  all  the 
wood  thereabouts,  and  then  they  pluck  up  stakes  to  follow 
the  wood  which  they  cannot  fetch  home  unto  them¬ 
selves.  .  .  No  arts  are  understood  among  them,  unless 

just  so  far  as  to  maintain  their  brutish  conversation,  which  is 
little  more  than  is  to  be  found  among  the  very  beavers  on 
our  streams.” 

B. 

CONDITION  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 

Bernal  Diaz,  who  accompanied  Cortez  in  his  expedition 
of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  states  that :  “  On  approaching 
Yucatan,  we  perceived  a  large  town  at  the  distance  of  two 
leagues  from  the  coast,  which  from  its  size  —  it  exceeding  any 
town  in  Cuba  —  we  named  Cairo.”  Upon  the  invitation  of 
the  chief,  who  came  off  in  a  canoe,  they  went  ashore,  but  were 
ambuscaded.  “  Near  the  place  of  this  ambuscade  were  three 


ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


391 


buildings  of  lime  and  sio7je,  wherein  were  idols  of  clay  with 
diabolical  countenances.”  “  The  buildings  of ///w  and 
and  the  gold,  gave  us  a  high  idea  of  the  country  we  had  dis¬ 
covered.”  At  another  point  he  speaks  of  meeting  “fifty 
Indians  dressed  in  cotton  mantles,”  who  invited  them  to 
their  town,  having  buildings  similarly  constructed,  “  with 
figures  of  serpents  and  idols  painted  upon  the  walls.”  March¬ 
ing  towards  the  capital,  and  arriving  at  Cempoal,  he  was 
struck  “with  the  beauty  of  the  buildings.”  Those  of  the 
great  square  “  had  been  lately  whitewashed  and  plastered,  in 
which  art  these  people  are  very  expert,”  and  one  of  the 
advanced  guard  was  so  struck  with  the  splendor  of  their 
appearance  in  the  sun,  that  he  rushed  back  and  told  Cortez 
that  the  walls  of  the  houses  were  of  silver.  As  they 
approached  the  territory  of  Mexico,  he  continues,  “  appear¬ 
ances  demonstrated  that  we  had  entered  a  new  country,  for 
the  temples  were  very  lofty,  and  together  with  the  terraced 
dwellings  and  the  houses  of  the  caiques,  being  plastered  and 
whitewashed,  appeared  very  well  and  resembled  some  of  our 
towns  in  Spain.”  At  Tehuacingo  they  entered  “a  strong 
and  spacious  temple.”  Arrived  at  Cholula,  “  a  city  much 
resembling  Valladolid,”  Cortez  sent  some  men  to  a  “  great 
temple  to  bring,  as  quietly  as  they  could,  two  priests.”  “  One 
of  them  was  a  person  of  rank  and  authority  over  all  the  tem¬ 
ples  of  the  city.”  As  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  he  could  com¬ 
pare  it  to  nothing  but  “  the  enchanted  scenes  we  had  read  of 
in  Amadis  de  Gaul,  from  the  great  towers  and  temples,  and 
other  edifices  of  lime  and  stone,  which  seemed  to  rise  up  out 
of  the  water.  .  .  We  were  received  by  the  great  lords  of 

that  country,  relations  of  Montezuma,  who  conducted  us  to 
our  lodgings  there  in  palaces  magnificently  built  of  stone, 
the  timber  of  which  was  cedar,  with  spacious  courts,  and 
apartments  furnished  with  canopies  of  the  finest  cotton.  The 
whole  was  ornamented  with  works  of  art,  painted,  and  admir¬ 
ably  plastered  and  whitened,  and  it  was  rendered  more 
delightful  by  numbers  of  beautiful  birds.” 


392 


APPENDIX. 


The  inhabitants  of  Central  America  were  abundantly  sup¬ 
plied  with  copper  implements.  When  Columbus,  in  his 
fourth  voyage,  was  visited  at  the  Guanaja  Islands  by  a  trading 
canoe  from  Yucatan,  the  crew,  according  to  Herrara,  had 
“  small  hatchets  made  of  copper,  small  bells  and  plates,  cru¬ 
cibles  to  77ielt  copper”  etc. 

So,  too,  when  the  Spaniards,  under  Cortez,  entered  Tus- 
pan,  they  mistook  the  bright  copper  or  bronze  axes  of  the 
natives  for  gold.  Bernal  Diaz  relates  that  “  each  Indian  had, 
besides  his  ornaments  of  gold,  a  copper  axe,  which  was  very 
highly  polished,  with  the  handles  curiously  carved,  as  if  to 
serve  equally  for  an  ornament  and  for  the  field  of  battle.  We 
first  thought  that  these  axes  were  made  of  an  inferior  kind  of 
gold  ;  we  therefore  commenced  taking  them  in  exchange,  and 
in  the  space  of  two  days  had  collected  more  than  six  hun¬ 
dred,  with  which  we  were  no  less  rejoiced,  as  long  as  we  were 
ignorant  of  their  real  value,  than  the  Indians  with  our  glass 
beads.” 

Dupaix  says  that  the  axe-heads,  cast  of  alloyed  copper, 
“  are  much  sought  by  silversmiths  on  account  of  their  fine 
alloy.” 

C. 

CONDITION  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS. 

When  the  Spaniards  invaded  Peru,  they  found  a  people 
far  advanced  in  civilization.  The  country  was  developed  by 
a  magnificent  system  of  internal  improvements.  A  road. 
Macadamized  or  paved  with  slabs  of  stone,  stretched  for  more 
than  a  thousand  miles  through  the  several  provinces  of  the 
empire,  by  which  an  easy  and  expeditious  communication 
was  maintained  between  the  most  distant  parts.  It  was 
marked  at  regular  distances  by  mile-stones,  or  some  unit  of 
measurement ;  and  at  suitable  positions  were  erected  station- 
houses.  Deep  ravines  and  rapid  rivers  were  spanned  by 
bridges,  sometimes  of  stone  and  sometimes  of  wood  or  ropes, 
and  the  crests  of  mountains  were  scaled  by  long  flights  of 


INDIANS  OF  NFW  MEXICO. 


393 


steps  cut  in  the  rock,  with  resting  places  provided.  As  the 
Peruvians  used  no  wagons,  although  they  had  subdued  the 
llama,  this  arrangement  was  sufficient.  The  engineering 
skill  thus  displayed,  excited  the  wonder  of  the  conquerors. 
Sarmiento,  who  saw  the  roads  of  Incas  while  they  were  yet 
in  a  state  of  preservation,  expresses  surprise  that  a  people 
unacquainted  with  the  use  of  iron  should  be  able  to  com¬ 
plete  such  grand  works  in  so  high  and  rocky  a  region,  extend¬ 
ing  from  Cuzco  to  Quito  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the  coast 
of  Chili  on  the  other.  “  The  Emperor  Charles,”  he  adds, 
“  with  all  his  power,  could  not  accomplish  even  a  part  of 
what  the  well-ordered  government  of  the  Incas  effected 
through  the  obedient  people  over  whom  they  ruled.” 

Hernando  Pizarro,  the  brother  of  the  Conqueror,  adds, 
that  “  in  the  whole  of  Christendom,  there  are  nowhere  such 
fine  roads  as  those  which  we  here  admire.”  Humboldt,  who 
saw  their  ruins,  states  that  nothing  he  had  ever  seen  of  the 
remains  of  Roman  roads  in  Italy,  in  the  south  of  France,  and 
in  Spain,  was  more  imposing  than  these  works  of  the  ancient 
Peruvians. 

Aqueducts  were  constructed  to  carry  water  to  the  caravan¬ 
saries  and  to  the  palaces  of  the  Incas,  and  also  cisterns  and 
reservoirs  to  furnish  water  for  irrigation.  The  “princely 
palaces  ”  were  built  of  hewn  stone,  and  they  used  for  this 
purpose  bronze  instruments.  They  spun  and  wove  cotton 
and  the  wool  of  the  alapaca.  They  were,  probably,  quite  as 
civilized,  and  less  cruel  than  their  conquerors. 

D. 

CONDITION  OF  THE  ANCIENT  INDIANS  OF  NEW  MEXICO. 

The  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  probably  occupied  at 
the  time  of  the  Conquest  the  frontier  posts  of  the  empire  of 
Montezuma.  When  first  known  to  the  Spaniards  they  were 
living  in  towns,  cultivating  and  irrigating  the  soil.  Their 
vessels  of  pottery  in  shape  and  material  correspond  very 
closely  with  those  found  in  the  mounds. 


394 


APPENDIX. 


Coronado,  who  in  1540  invaded  the  country  of  Cibola,  in 
his  “Relations”  speaks  of  seeing  “great  houses  of  stone,” 
for  he  adds,  “although  they  be  not  wrought  with  turquasses, 
nor  with  lime,  nor  with  brick,  yet  they  are  very  excellent 
houses  of  three,  or  four,  or  five  lofts  high,  wherein  are  good 
lodgings  and  fair  chambers,  with  ladders  instead  of  stairs, 
and  certain  cellars  under  ground  very  good  and  paved.  .  . 

In  this  town,  where  I  now  remain,  there  may  be  some  two 
hundred  houses,  all  compassed  with  walls ;  and  I  think  that, 
with  the  rest  of  the  houses  which  are  not  so  walled,  there 
may  be  together  five  hundred.”  In  describing  the  domestic 
habits  of  the  people,  he  remarks  :  “  They  have  no  cotton¬ 
wool  growing,  because  the  country  is  too  cold,  yet  they  wear 
mantles  thereof,  and  true  it  is  that  there  was  found  within 
their  houses  certain  yarn  made  of  cotton  wool.  .  .  The 

kingdom  of  Totonteac  is  much  extolled  by  the  Father  Pro¬ 
vincial,  who  said  there  were  wonderful  things  there,  and  such 
great  matters,  and  that  they  made  clothes  there.” 

These  extracts  clearly  show  that,  in  their  habits  and  pur¬ 
suits,  the  inhabitants  of  Central  and  South  America  were 
widely  different  from  those  of  North  America  :  in  the  one 
instance  the  people  had  made  considerable  progress  in  civil¬ 
ization  ;  in  the  other  they  were  sunk  in  brutal  barbarism. 

E. 

THE  ATLANTIC  THEORY. 

“The  Story  of  Atlantis,”  recorded  by  Plato  in  his  Tineeus, 
as  communicated  to  Solon  by  an  Egyptian  priest,  has,  in  the 
light  of  modern  geographical  discovery,  been  generally 
regarded  as  a  myth ;  but  within  a  few  years  it  has  been 
revived,  and  there  are  not  wanting  investigators  of  profound 
learning  who  regard  it  as  authentic.  The  following  is  the 
version  of  the  Greek  philosopher  : 

“Among  the  great  deeds  of  Athens,  of  which  recollection 
is  preserved  in  our  books,  there  is  one  which  should  be 


ATLANTIC  THEORY. 


B95 


placed  above  all  others.  Our  books  tell  that  the  Athenians 
destroyed  an  army  which  came  across  the  Atlantic  Sea  and 
insolently  invaded  Europe  and  Asia;  for  this  sea  was  then 
navigable,  and  beyond  the  strait  where  you  place  the  Pillars 
of  Hercules,  there  was  an  island  larger  than  Asia  [Minor] 
and  Libya  combined.  From  this  island  one  could  pass  easily 
to  other  islands,  and  from  these  to  the  Continent  which  lies 
around  the  interior  sea.  The  sea  on  this  side  of  the  strait 
(the  Mediterranean)  of  which  we  speak,  resembles  a  harbor 
with  a  narrow  entrance;  but  there  is  a  genuine  sea,  and  the 
land  which  surrounds  it  is  a  veritable  continent.  In  the 
Island  of  Atlantis  reigned  three  kings  with  great  and  mar¬ 
velous  power.  They  had  under  their  dominion  the  whole 
of  Atlantis,  several  other  islands,  and  some  parts  of  the 
Continent.  At  one  time  their  power  extended  into  Libya, 
and  into  Europe  as  far  as  Tyrrhenia,  and,  uniting  their 
whole  force,  they  sought  to  destroy  our  countries  at  a  blow; 
but  their  defeat  stopped  the  invasion  and  gave  entire  inde¬ 
pendence  to  all  the  countries  this  side  of  the  Pillars  of  Her¬ 
cules.  Afterward,  in  one  day  and  one  fatal  night,  there  came 
mighty  earthquakes  and  inundations  which  engulfed  the 
warlike  people.  Atlantis  disappeared  beneath  the  sea,  and 
then  that  sea  became  inaccessible,  so  that  navigation  on  it 
ceased  on  account  of  the  quantity  of  mud  which  the  engulfed 
island  left  in  its  place.” 

Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Solon,  relates  that  when  that  law¬ 
giver  was  in  Egypt  “he  conferred  with  the  priests  and  learned 
from  them  the  story  of  Atlantis.” 

Diodorus  Siculus  states  that :  “Over  against  Africa  lies  a 
very  great  island,  in  the  vast  ocean  many  days’  sail  from 
Libya  westward.  The  soil  there  is  very  fruitful,  a  great  part 
whereof  is  mountainous,  but  much  likewise  champaign,  which 
is  the  most  sweet  and  pleasant  part,  for  it  is  watered  by  sev¬ 
eral  navigable  streams,  and  beautiful  with  many  gardens  of 
pleasure,  planted  by  divers  sorts  of  trees  and  an  abundance 
ot  orchards.  The  towns  are  adorned  with  stately  buildings 


396 


APPENDIX. 


and  banqueting  houses  pleasantly  situated  in  their  gardens 
and  orchards.” 

These  passages  from  the  ancient  classics  as  to  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  a  Western  Continent,  coupled  with  certain  traditions 
to  be  found  in  the  ancient  Mexican  records  of  a  great  catas¬ 
trophe,  the  combined  result  of  earthquakes  and  inundations, 
by  which  a  large  area  in  Central  America  became  submerged 
and  a  greater  portion  of  the  population  destroyed,  have 
reopened  the  discussion  whether  Plato’s  “  Story  of  Atlantis  ” 
does  not  belong  to  the  sobrieties  of  truth.  Among  the  most 
zealous  of  these  advocates  is  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
who  has  brought  out  these  traditions  in  his  translation  of  the 
“  Teo  Amoxtli,’"*"  which  is  the  Toltecan  mythological  history 
of  the  cataclysm  of  the  Antilles ;  and  the  late  George  Catlin 
published  a  little  workf  in  which  this  theory  is  vigorously 
maintained.  Among  the  Indian  tribes  of  North  America, 
Catlin  found  the  tradition  of  such  a  cataclysm.  The  tribes 
further  south  relate  that  the  waters  were  seen  coming  in 
waves  like  mountains  from  the  east,  and  of  the  tens  of  thou¬ 
sands  who  ran  for  the  high  grounds  to  the  west,  according  to 
some  traditions  one  man  only,  and  according  to  others,  two, 
and  still  according  to  others,  seven,  succeeded  in  reaching 
places  of  safety,  and  from  these  have  descended  the  present 
races  of  Indians. 

“  The  tribes  in  Central  America  and  Mexico,  in  Venezuela, 
and  in  British  and  Dutch  Guinea,  distinctly  describe  these 
cataclysms, —  one  by  water,  one  by  fire,  and  the  third  by  the 
winds.  The  tribes  nearer  the  vicinity  of  the  terrible  con¬ 
vulsions  were  cognizant  of  the  whole  effects  of  fire  and 
winds,  when  the  remote  tribes  were  sensible  only  of  the  flood 
of  waters  which  went  to  the  base  of  the  mountains. 

*  “  Quater  Lettres  sur  le  Mexique,”  and  “  Sources  de  I'Histoire  Prim¬ 
itive  du  Mexique.” 

f  Catlin,  “  The  Lifted  and  Subsided  Rocks  of  America.”  London, 
Triibner  &  Co.,  1870. 

Ibidem,  p.  145. 


ATLANTIC  THEORY. 


397 


From  amidst  “the  thunder  and  flames  that  came  out  of 
the  sea,”  whilst  “  mountains  were  sinking  and  rising,”  the 
terror-stricken  inhabitants  sought  every  expedient  of  safety. 
Some  fled  to  the  mountains,  and  some  launched  their  rafts  and 
canoes  upon  the  turbulent  waters,  trusting  that  a  favorable 
current  would  land  them  upon  a  hospitable  shore,  and  thus 
in  this  elemental  strife  this  ancient  civilized  people  became 
widely  dispersed. 

The  festival  of  “  Izcalli  ”  was  instituted  to  commemorate 
this  terrible  calamity,  in  which  “  princes  and  people  humbled 
themselves  before  the  Divinity  and  besought  Him  not  to 
renew  the  frightful  convulsions.” 

It  is  claimed  that  by  this  catastrophe,  an  area  larger  than 
that  of  the  kingdom  of  France  became  engulfed,  including 
the  Lesser  Antilles,  the  extensive  banks  at  their  eastern  base, 
which  at  that  date  were  vast  and  fertile  plains,  the  peninsulas 
of  Yucatan,  Honduras,  and  Guatemala,  and  the  great  estuaries 
of  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  With  the  pen¬ 
insulas  of  Yucatan  and  Guatemala,  went  down  the  splendid 
cities  of  Palenque  and  Uxmal,  and  others  whose  sites  are  now 
in  the  ocean  bed,  with  most  of  their  living  inhabitants;  and 
the  Continent  has  since  risen  sufficiently  to  restore  many  of 
these  ancient  sites. 

The  Abbe  Brasseur  boldly  asserts  that  he  has  found  proofs 
that  the  first  civilization  of  the  earth  was  on  the  ground  which 
sank  in  the  cataclysm  of  the  Antilles;  that  the  first  ceremo¬ 
nial  religion  commenced  there,  as  well  as  the  first  Age  of 
Bronze,  which  spread  over  the  two  hemispheres  ;  and  that 
there  we  have  the  beginning  and  basis  of  American  ethnology. 

He  appeals  to  comparative  philology  to  support  his  views. 
The  words  Atlas  and  Atlantic  have  no  satisfactory  etymology 
in  any  language  known  to  Europe.  They  are  not  Greek, 
and  cannot  be  referred  to  any  known  language  of  the  Old 
World.*  But  in  the  Nahuatal  (or  Toltecan)  language  we  find 
immediately  the  radical  a,  atl^  which  signifies  water,  man, 
*  Molina,  “  Vocab.  en  lengua  Mexicana  y  Castellana,”  etc. 


398 


APPENDIX. 


and  the  top  of  the  head.  From  this  comes  a  series  of  words, 
such  as  atlan  —  on  the  border  of,  or  amid  the  water, —  from 
which  we  have  the  adjective  Atlantic.  W e  have,  also,  atla^a  — 
to  combat,  or  to  be  in  agony ;  it  means  also,  to  hurl  or  dart 
from  the  water,  and  in  the  preterit  makes  atlaz.  A  city 
named  Atlan  existed  when  the  continent  was  discovered  by 
Columbus,  in  the  Gulf  of  Urba,  Darien,  with  a  good  harbor; 
but  it  is  now  reduced  to  an  unimportant  pueblo  named  Ada. 

The  authority  of  Charles  Martins  is  appealed  to,  showing 
that  “  hydrography,  geology,  and  botany  agree  in  teaching 
us  that  the  Azores,  the  Canaries,  and  Madeira,  are  the 
remains  of  a  great  continent  which  formerly  united  Europe 
to  North  America.”* 

The  Abbe  might  also  have  appealed  to  the  authority  of 
Retzius,  that  the  primitive  Dolicocephali  of  America,  compre¬ 
hending  not  only  the  Caribs  of  the  Lesser  Antilles,  but  the 
neighboring  continent  of  Venezuela  and  Guiana,  are  nearly 
related  to  the  Guanches  in  the  Canary  Islands,  and  the  Atlantic 
populations  of  Africa  —  the  Moors,  Tuaricks,  Copts,  etc. 

Catlin  f  asserts  that  the  ruined  cities  of  Palenque  and 
Uxmal  have  within  themselves,  the  evidences  that  the  ocean 
has  been  their  bed  for  thousands  of  years,  and  that  the  earth 
on  which  one  treads,  and  the  whole  face  of  the  country  in 
which  they  stand,  bear  incontestable  proofs  of  the  same  fact. 
Now,  in  opposition  to  this  claim  to  a  very  remote  antiquity, 
it  may  be  stated  that  these  structures  are  composed  of  a  soft 
coralline  limestone  of  a  comparatively  recent  geological  for¬ 
mation,  probably  of  the  Tertiary  period,  and  upon  the  struct¬ 
ures  themselves  there  are  no  water-lines,  such  as  would  be 
left  by  a  gradually  emerging  continent.  Besides,  to  show 
the  comparatively  recent  origin  of  these  cities,  by  which  I 
mean  since  the  soil  and  climate  have  assumed  a  nearly  unva¬ 
rying  phase,  it  may  be  stated  that  over  the  doorways  of  Uxmal, 
Stevens  observed  that  the  lintels  were  formed  of  wood,  belong- 

=1=  “  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,”  March,  1867. 

f  Ibidem,  p.  154. 


ANTE  -  COLUIUBIAN  DISCOVERIES. 


399 


Ing  to  a  tree  which  is  harder  than  lignum  vilcB,  many  of  which 
were  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation  at  the  time  of  his 
explorations,  and  this,  too,  in  a  climate  which  is  most  des¬ 
tructive  to  all  perishable  things. 

It  may  be  further  remarked  that  the  earlier  observers  of 
the  ruins  of  Palenque  describe  structures  which  have  now 
crumbled  to  dust,  and  that  in  that  moist  climate,  giving  birth 
to  a  luxuriant  vegetation,  ready  to  eliminate  whatever  of 
nutrition  there  may  be  derived  from  a  perishable  limestone, 
these  abandoned  cities,  since  the  Spanish  Conquest,  embrac¬ 
ing  a  period  of  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  years,  have 
assumed  to  a  greater  extent  the  character  of  undistinguish- 
able  ruins.  How  different  from  the  dry  atmosphere  of  Egypt, 
which  has  preserved  every  touch  of  the  graver’s  chisel, 
every  shade  of  the  artist’s  brush,  and  whose  soil  is  fertilized, 
not  by  descending  showers,  but  by  the  annual  inundations  of 
the  Nile!  Had  such  a  climate  reigned  there,  those  monu¬ 
ments,  reaching  back  to  the  dawn  of  the  Historic  Period, 
would  have  been  undecipherable.  The  brilliant  colors  of 
the  paintings,  and  the  texture  of  the  finer  handiwork  fade  and 
perish  when  exposed  for  a  generation  to  the  moist  climate  of 
Paris  or  London. 

It  maybe  further  remarked  —  a  point  well  taken  by  M. 
Claparede, —  that  the  disappearance  of  so  large  an  area  as  was 
embraced  in  the  supposed  Atlantis,  would  have  produced  a 
very  considerable  refrigeration  in  the  climate  of  the  northern 
hemisphere,  attended  with  a  marked  change  in  the  flora  and 
fauna,  especially  in  the  basin  of  the  Mediterranean, —  an  event 
which  would  have  permanently  engraved  itself  upon  the 
memory  of  the  Egyptians. 

F. 

ANTE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERIES. 

I  have  purposely  declined  to  discuss  the  ante-Columbian 
relations  which  many  conjecture  to  have  existed  through 
the  voyages  of  the  Northmen  to  Vinland,  and  of  the 


400 


APPENDIX. 


Welsh,  under  Prince  Madog,  to  some  supposed  point  in 
the  Southern  States,  for  the  reason  that  if  such  an  inter¬ 
course  was  ever  established,  these  peoples  have  left  behind 
no  memorials.  The  Runic  inscription  which  the  Danish 
antiquarians  profess  to  recognize  on  the  Dighton  rock,  is  to 
the  American  ethnologist  but  the  crude  picture-writing  of  the 
savage.  The  alphabetical  characters  inscribed  on  the  “Grave 
Creek  Stone,”  and  the  “  Holy  Stone  of  Newark  ”  with  its 
Hebrew  letters,  which  have  called  out  from  philologists  a 
wonderful  amount  of  learning,  one  is  disposed  involuntarily 
to  associate  with  the  famous  stone  which  served  as  the  basis 
of  Mr.  Pickwick’s  fame. 

The  “  Cincinnati  Tablet,”  which  was  supposed  to  bear  “  a 
singular  resemblance  to  the  Egyptian  cartouche,”  was  fresh 
with  the  dust  of  the  graver  when  the  artist  first  attempted  to 
palm  it  off  as  a  genuine  relic  of  the  Mound-builders.*  “  The 
Round  Tower  of  Newport,”  instead  of  being  a  Norse  monu¬ 
ment,  turns  out  to  be  but  a  wind-mill  built  by  one.  of  the 
Rhode -Island  governors;  and  “The  Skeleton  in  Armor” 
which  the  poet  has  wrought  into  a  fine  ballad,  represented 
simply  all  that  was  mortal  of  a  Narragansett  Indian  rigged  out 
in  European  trappings. 

The  Rev.  Morgan  Jones,  who  swore  that  in  his  travels 
among  the  “  Doegs  ”  of  the  Tuscarora  Nation,  he  found  a 
people  with  whom  he  could  converse  familiarly  in  the  Welsh 
language,  may  have  been  a  very  worthy  man ;  but  we  are 
disposed  to  question  the  truthfulness  of  a  statement  at  this 
day,  when  the  author  deems  it  necessary  to  fortify  it  by  a 
self-sought  oath,  f 

*  Whittlesey,  “Archaeological  Frauds,”  1872. 

JSee  “  Gentleman’s  Magazine,”  1740. 


INDEX. 


'  rl, 


'  y 


,,:i,  .h. 


y  ';,:  ^  Vi/i'y 


INDEX 


A. 

Abbeville,  France,  gravel  beds  of, 
23- 

Adair,  Mr.,  on  Indian  games,  220. 
Adhemar,  M.,  on  precession  of  equi¬ 
noxes,  379. 

Adobe,  used  by  Mound-builders, 
112,  113. 

Agriculture  of  Mound-builders,  155, 

346. 

Agricultural  implements,  207. 
Alexander  the  Great,  mound  by, 
over  Hephaestion,  igS. 

Alaska,  fossil  ivory  of,  84. 

Allouez,  explores  Lake  Superior,  262. 
Altar  mounds,  177. 

Ancient  history  of  Mexico  and  Cen¬ 
tral  America,  340,  389. 

Ancient  mining,  261. 

Animal  mounds  of  Wisconsin,  99. 
Anse,  Petit,  ancient  basket-work  at, 

56- 

Ante-Columbian  discoveries,  399. 
Antiquity  of  Man,  in  Europe,  17. 
in  America,  51. 

Antiquity  of  Mound-builders,  369. 
Arctic  Highlander,  32. 

Arkansas,  ancient  works  in,  113. 
Arrows,  stone,  of  Mound-builders, 
204. 

copper,  255. 

Articles  interred  with  the  dead,  312. 
Art,  see  Civilization. 

Arts  and  manufactures  of  the 
Mound-builders,  202. 
arrow-heads,  204. 
spades,  207. 
axes,  209. 
fleshers,  213. 
pipes,  215. 
pestles,  217. 
discs,  218. 


Arts  and  manufactures  of  the 
Mound-builders  — 
totems,  222. 
textile  fabrics,  223. 
gauges,  229. 
weights,  230. 
shuttles,  233. 
spindle-whorls,  234. 
shell-work,  234. 
water-jugs,  237. 
drinking  cups,  246, 
sepulchral  urns,  247. 
kettles,  248, 
colored  pottery,  25c. 
copper  implements,  chisels, 
axes,  and  daggers,  253. 
spear  and  arrow-heads,  255. 
knives,  awls,  and  bracelets,  256, 
other  implements,  with  mould 
marks,  258, 

Assyria,  civilization  of,  329. 

Astronomical  causes  affecting  tem¬ 
perature,  378. 

Atlantis,  story  of,  394. 

Auk,  great,  extinct,  38,  162. 

Aurignac,  bone  cave  at,  28. 

Aurochs,  or  bison,  of  Europe,  89. 

Awls,  256. 

A.xes  of  Mound-builders,  209,  253. 

Aryan  customs,  314. 

Aztalan,  Wis.,  works  at,  102. 

Aztecs,  their  origin,  340. 
their  crania,  326. 
their  civilization,  341. 
subdued  by  Cortez,  341. 

B. 

Baldwin,  Mr.,  “Ancient  Races” 
cited,  341,  note. 

Baltic,  changes  in  its  waters,  41. 

Bancroft,  Mr.,  erroneous  views  as  to 
mounds,  184. 


404 


INDEX. 


Bancroft,  Mr.,  on  American  lan¬ 
guages,  320. 

on  the  “  Lost  Tribes,”  323. 
Barrandt,  Mr.,  on  antiquities  of  the 
Upper  Missouri,  153. 

Bateman, Mr., on  British  tumuli,log. 
Bartram,  Mr.,  cited,  221. 

Beads,  found  in  mounds,  235. 

Bear,  fossil,  gl. 

American,  gi. 

Behring’s  Strait,  gq. 

Belgium,  bone-caves  of,  27,  30. 
human  jaw  from,  306. 

,  Berthoud,  Mr.,  on  antiquities  of 
Colorado  and  Wyoming,  6g,  152. 
Bible  notices  of  iron,  333. 

Bison,  how  far  common  to  two  hem¬ 
ispheres,  l8g. 

Blanding,  Dr.,  on  antiquities  of 
South  Carolina,  148. 

Bolas,  described,  231. 

Bootherium,  or  great  musk-ox  of 
America,  87. 

Borreby  skull,  27g. 

Boucher  de  Perthes,  M.,  22,  23. 
Boue,  M.,  21. 

Bourbeuse  Valley,  mastodon  bed  of, 
64. 

Boyd,  Dr.,  235,  2g5. 

Boyd-Dawkins  and  Sanford,Messrs., 
gi. 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Abbe.,  on 
early  history  of  Central  Ameri¬ 
ca.  341. 

his  theory  of  Atlantis,  3g6. 
Brachycephali,  defined,  2g3. 

distribution  of,  in  America,  326. 
Brazil,  bone-caves  in,  301. 

Brinton,  Dr.,  on  shell-heaps  of 
Florida,  160. 

British  tumuli,  log,  185. 

ancient  burial  rites,  316. 

Buckle,  cited,  344,  345. 

Buffalo,  American,  8g. 

Bunsen,  Chev.,  cited,  355. 

Burial,  ancient  modes  of,  1 88,  310. 
Busk,  Mr.,  gi. 

C. 

Castoroides  (great  beaver),  range 
of,  g2. 

Catherwood,  Mr.,  his  drawings  of 
Central  American  monuments, 

338. 


Cahoika,  great  mound  at,  107. 
Calaveras  skull,  53.' 

Canfield,  Mr.,  100,  155. 

Catlin,  Mr.,  175,  3g6. 

Cave-bear,  gi. 
hyena,  gi. 
lion,  go. 
men,  33. 

Caves  and  grottoes,  European,  27. 

American,  130. 

Celts,  2og. 

Central  America,  civilization  of,  32g. 

hieroglyphics  of,  321. 

Charlevoix,  117,  note. 

Chichimecs,  342. 

Chert,  ancient  quarries  of,  271. 

implements,,  205. 

Chimpanzee,  skull  of,  305. 

Chisels,  253. 

Christol  and  Tournal,  21. 
Chronology,  defects  of,  17,  355. 
Chronometric  measurements,  368. 
Chung ke,  game  of,  220. 

Chunky,  “  “  221. 

“Cincinnati  Tablet,”  400. 
Civilization,  forms  of,  their  ethnic 
value,  328. 

of  Eastern  hemisphere,  32g. 
of  Central  America,  32g,  343,  3go. 
originated  in  tropics,  33g. 
Claparede,  M.,  3gg. 

Classification  of  Human  Period,  7g. 
Clavigero,  cited,  340. 

Clemens,  Dr.,  igi. 

Cleveland,  Mr.,  78. 

Climate,  changes  in  Europe,  within 
the  Human  Epoch,  2g,  378. 
conditions  preceding  the  Drift 
Epoch,  30. 

during  the  Stone  Age  of  Denmark, 
40- 

Cloth  found  in  mounds,  222. 
Colhuas,  ancient,  of  Central  Ameri¬ 
ca,  343- 

Collett,  Mr.,  on  mounds  of  the 
Wabash,  142,  ig3. 
on  burial  vault,  at  Merom,  la.,  lg3. 
Colorado,  pre-historic  remains  in, 
6g. 

Combe,  Geo.,  on  the  Indian  skull, 
300. 

Conrad,  Mr.,  on  Tertiary  .shells  of 
Colorado,  71. 

Copan,  ruins  of,  338. 


INDEX. 


405 


Cope,  Prof.,  cited,  71. 

Copper,  smelted  by  pre-historic 
people  of  Europe,  39,  46. 
smelted  by  Mound-builders,  259. 
mined  on  shores  of  Lake  Superior, 
261. 

implements  of,  251. 

Cornelius,  Mr.,  on  Etowah  mounds, 
122. 

Corn-hills,  155. 

Coronado,  cited,  394. 

Cortez,  his  conquest  of  Mexico,  341. 

Cox.,  Prof.,  on  antiquities  of  Arkan¬ 
sas,  1 1 3. 

on  sepulchral  grottoes  in  Indiana, 
130. 

on  shell-heaps  in  Indiana,  164. 
on  ancient  fort  in  Illinois,  131. 

Cremation  practised  by  Mound- 
builders,  189. 

Crania  of  ancient  Danes,  279. 
character  of,  in  Florida  shell- 
heaps,  169. 

character  of,  from  Engis,  306. 
character  of,  from  Neanderthal, 
289,  305. 

from  bone-caves  of  Brazil,  289. 
profiles  of,  on  bass-reliefs  of  Cen¬ 
tral  America,  302. 
of  Mound-builders,  275. 

from  the  region  of  Chicago, 
276. 

Merom,  la.,  282. 

Laporte,  la.,  287. 

Dubuque,  Iowa,  289. 
review  of,  as  figured  by  others, 
291. 

classification  of,  293. 
profile  of  Flathead,  295. 
distinctive  characters  of,  in 
Mound-builder,  295. 
in  the  Red  man,  300. 

Peruvian,  compared  with  Hotten¬ 
tot  and  New  Hollander,  303. 
Aztec,  326. 

deformation  of,  how  far  artificial, 
295,  303,  325. 

deformation  among  Central  and 
South  American  tribes,  302. 
contours  of  most  anomalous,  305. 
tabulated  measurements  of,  307. 
a  guide  in  tracing  ethnic  rela¬ 
tions,  324. 

how  modified  by  culture,  336. 


Crania, brachycephalic,  range  of,326. 

dolicocephalic,  range  of,  325. 
Croll,  Mr.,  on  excentricity  of  earth's 
orbit,  382. 

Custar,  Gen.,  on  Indian  character, 
348,  note. 

Customs,  see  Manners  and  Cus¬ 
toms. 

D. 

Dablon,  Father,  visits  Lake  Superi¬ 
or,  262. 

Daggers,  copper,  253. 

Dakota,  antiquities  in,  153. 

Dali,  Mr.,  on  fossil  ivory  of  Alaska, 
84. 

Danish  discoveries  in  America.  399. 
Darwin,  Mr.,  on  the  unity  of  the 
human  race,  359. 

Denmark,  antiquities  in,  37. 

peat  swamps  of,  37,  note. 

Desor,  M.,  on  Swiss  antiquities,  41, 
47.  48. 

on  age  of  Niagara  gorge,  376. 
Diaz,  Bernal,  on  Mexican  human 
sacrifices,  183. 

on  Mexican  civilization,  341,  390. 
Dickeson,  Dr.,  on  Natchez  bone,  59. 

on  Seltzertown  mound,  112. 
Dighton  rock,  400. 

Discoidal  stones,  218. 

Disco  Island,  29. 

Dogs,  bones  of,  first  recognized  in 
Denmark,  38. 

absence  of,  in  America,  334. 
Dolicocephali,  defined,  293. 

distribution  of,  in  America,  325. 
Domestic  animals  and  plants,  first 
recognized  among  Swiss  Lake- 
dwellers,  45. 

absence  of,  in  America,  334. 
Dowler,  Dr.,  on  New  Orleans  skele¬ 
ton,  72. 

Drinking  cups,  245. 

Dungan,  Dr.,  21 1,  244. 

Dunning,  Mr.,  on  cists  in  Tennessee, 
108. 

his  exploration  of  Lick  Creek 
mound,  194. 

Dupaix,  M.,  392. 

Duponceau,  Mr.,  118  note,  319. 
Dupont,  M.,  his  exploration  of  Bel¬ 
gian  caves,  27,  30,  306. 

Du  Pratz,  117,  118  note,  219. 


406 


INDEX. 


E. 

Earth’s  axis,  alteration  of,  379. 
Earthworks,  see  Mounds. 

Ecuador,  antiquities  in,  g6,  note. 
Egyptian  civilization,  328. 

chronology,  356. 

Elephant,  fossil,  in  France,  24. 
in  England,  25. 

his  distribution  over  both  conti¬ 
nents,  81. 

great  American,  fossil,  84. 

Elk,  Irish,  88. 

American,  fossil,  88. 
moose,  36. 

Emerton,  Mr.,  plan  of  works  at 
Merom,  la.,  134. 

plan  of  works  at  Hutsonville,  Ill., 
139- 

Engraving,  by  Cave-men,  34. 

“  Edthen,”  cited,  335. 

Eras  of  human  progress,  273. 

Epoch  of  extinct  animals,  21. 
of  migrated  existing  animals,  30. 
of  domesticated  animals,  36. 
of  bronze,  39,  46. 
of  iron,  46. 

Equinoxes,  precession  of,  379. 
Esquimaux,  their  habits,  31,  324. 
crania,  323. 

Ethnic  relations,  see  Manners  AND 
Customs. 

Etowah  River,  works  on,  122. 
Excentricity  of  earth’s  orbit,  382. 

F. 

Falconer,  Dr.,  26,  90. 

Falkner,  Mr.,  231. 

Faunae,  extinct,  of  Europe  and 
America,  93. 

Fitzinger,  Dr.,  327. 

Flathead,  skull  of,  295. 

Fleshers,  213. 

Flint  implements,  uniformity  in, 
202,  317. 
how  made,  204. 
of  Mound-builders,  204. 

Flint,  Timothy,  171. 

Florence,  Ala.,  earthworks  at,  ill. 
Florida,  skeleton  found  in,  76. 

shell-heaps  of,  160,  167. 

Fontaine,  Mr.,  on  relics  at  Petit 
Anse,  52. 


Fontaine,  Mr.,  on  mounds  of  South¬ 
ern  States,  no. 

Forest-trees,  longevity  of,  371. 
Forshey,  Prof.,  on  Natchez  bone,  59. 
on  earthworks  of  Southwest,  1 14. 
on  “inexplicable  mounds,’’  121. 
on  shell-heaps  near  New  Orleans, 
157- 

Fortifications  of  Mound  -  builders, 

174- 

France,  bone-caves  in,  27. 

Freneau,  Mr.,  313. 

Funeral  offerings,  181,  312. 

G. 

Gallatin,  Mr.,  on  American  lan¬ 
guage,  319,  321. 

Galena, rarely  found  in  mounds,  270. 
Games,  Indian,  219. 

Garden-beds,  ancient,  155. 

Gauges,  229. 

“  Genesis  of  Earth  and  Man,’’  357. 
Gibbon,  on  Scythian  habits,  334, 
note. 

on  Roman  sun-worship,  312,  note, 
on  permanence  of  type,  335. 
Gilleiron,  M.,  on  Lake  Berne,  47. 
Glacial  action  in  California,  54. 

Epoch,  climate  incident  to,  30. 
Gnalhodon  shell-heaps,  156. 
Godwin-Austen,  Mr.,  26. 

Gould,  Dr.,  “  Anthropological  Sta¬ 
tistics  ’’  cited,  307. 

Grave  Creek  mound,  130,  190, 

Gray,  Prof.,  on  Tertiary  flora,  93. 

on  age  of  forest  trees,  372. 

Greek  mode  of  burial,  196,  197, 
Greenstone,  its  properties,  203. 
Greenwall,  Mr.,  on  British  tumuli, 
185. 

Grimes,  Mr.,  cited,  54. 

Grimm,  Jacob,  on  cremation,  199. 
Grottoes,  see  Caves. 

H. 

Hall,  Prof.,  on  age  of  Niagara  gorge, 

376- 

Hammers,  stone,  209. 

Harper  Dr.,  on  stone  cists  of  Indi¬ 
ana,  108. 

on  tibiae  of  Mound-builders,  308. 
Haven,  Mr.,  “Archaeology  of  United 
States,”  5,  preface. 


INDEX. 


407 


Haven,  Mr.,  on  American  language, 

319- 

cited,  304,  note. 

Hearths,  ancient,  in  Ohio,  77. 
in  Colorado,  6g. 

Heer,  Prof.,  on  cereals  used  by  Lake- 
dwellers,  45. 

on  Swiss  domesticated  plants, 
■+5- 

on  variations  in  climate,  378. 
Heliopolis,  relics  found  at,  49. 
Henry,  Prof.,  his  interest  in  Am¬ 
erican  ethnology,  6,  preface, 
on  ancient  basket-work  in  Louisi¬ 
ana,  56. 

Herodotus,  on  Persian  sun-worship, 
182. 

on  the  structure  of  the  Pyramids, 
187. 

on  Scythian  customs,  176,  334. 
on  modes  of  burial,  lg6. 
on  Thracian  customs,  199. 
on  use  of  iron,  332. 

Hesiod,  sings  of  iron,  332. 

Higday,  Dr.,  143,  287. 

Hilgard,  Prof.,  on  Petit  Anse  de¬ 
posits,  57. 

Hill,  Mr.,  on  ancient  mining,  268. 
Hippocrates,  on  the  Macrocephali, 

327- 

Hitchcock,  Prof.,  on  Mississippi 
delta,  74. 

on  structure  of  mounds,  184. 

Hog,  not  indigenous  to  America, 
92- 

Holmes,  Dr,,  71. 

Homer,  on  Grecian  burials,  197. 

on  tempering  steel,  332. 

Horner,  Mr.,  explorations  of,  in  Nile 
Valley,  48. 

Horse,  common  to  Europe,  go. 
extinct,  at  the  discover)’ of  Ameri¬ 
ca,  70. 

Hough,  Mr.,  120. 

Houghton,  Dr.,  262. 

Hoy,  Dr.,  on  fossil  musk-ox,  87. 
cited  as  to  flint  implements,  182. 
as  to  Mound-builders  using  lead, 
270. 

Huehue  Tlapalan,  342. 

Human  progress,  eras  of,  273. 
Human  sacrifices,  182,  315. 
Humboldt,  Alex.  Von,  on  unity  of 
the  human  race,  365. 


Humboldt,\Villiam,  on  man’s  origin, 

337- 

Humboldt  and  Bonpland,  on  Am¬ 
erican  crania,  302. 

Humphreys  and  Abbott,  cited,  74, 
no,  1 19. 

Humphry,  Dr.,  on  skull  of  the  idiot, 
note,  296,  298. 

Hutsonville,  Ilk,  works  at,  139. 
Huxley,  Prof.,  on  crania  of  the  in¬ 
ferior  races,  308. 

Hyena,  cave,  of  Europe,  91. 

1. 

Iceland,  fossil  flora  of,  30. 
Implements  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Somme  Valley,  25. 
of  the  Mound-builders,  202. 
Indiana,  earthworks  in,  130,  192. 

shell-heaps  in,  165. 

Indians  of  North  America,  their 
character,  300,  347,  389. 
their  language,  318. 
their  crania,  300. 
their  funeral  observances,  313. 
the  slight  value  of  their  traditions, 
374- 

Irish  elk,  88. 

Iron,  its  manifold  applications,  46. 
art  of  smelting  once  acquired 
would  never  lapse,  331. 
its  use  older  than  the  Historic 
Period,  332. 

Bible  notices  of,  332. 
unknown  to  America,  333. 

Iron  specular,  used  as  a  stone  by 
Mound-builders,  233,  333. 
Israelites,  did  not  people  America, 
322. 

J- 

Jenkes.  Col.,  on  clay  cists  in  North 
Carolina,  149. 

on  discoidal  stones  found  in,  221. 
Jones,  Dr.,  261. 

Jones,  Mr.,  on  Shell-heaps  of  Nova 
Scotia,  161. 

Jones,  Rev.  Morgan,  400. 

Jersey  County  (Illinois)  hatchet,  66. 
Jesuits,  first  explore  Lake  Superior, 
262. 

their  mention  of  copper,  262. 


408 


INDEX. 


K. 

Kane,  Dr.,  on  habits  of  Esquimaux, 
31- 

on  range  of  musk-ox,  86. 

Keller,  M.,  on  Swiss  lake-dwellings, 

42. 

Kentucky,  earthworks  in,  124,  132. 
Kerr,  Prof.,  as  to  mica  mines  of 
North  Carolina,  270. 

Kettles  of  Mound-builders,  248. 
Knapp,  Mr.,  on  ancient  copper¬ 
mining,  265. 

Knives,  copper,  256. 
Kjokkenmdddings  of  Denmark,  37. 
Koch,  Dr.,  his  explorations  of  mas¬ 
todon  beds,  62. 


L. 

Lake-habitations  in  Switzerland,  41. 
in  other  parts,  Austria,  Bavaria, 
and  Italy,  48. 

Lake  Superior,  ancient  copper¬ 
mining  near,  265. 

Language  a  guide  in  tracing  ethnic 
relations,  318. 

American,  unique  and  primitive, 

319-. 

Sanscrit,  source  of  European,  318. 

Languages  of  Central  America,  322. 

La  Salle,  first  visits  Natchez  In¬ 
dians.  1 1 7. 

Lapham,  Dr.,  his  “  Antiquities  of 
Wisconsin,”  gg. 
on  the  works  at  Aztalan,  loi. 
on  effigy  mounds,  gg. 
on  ancient  garden-beds,  155. 
on  mound  crania,  2go,  note, 
on  age  of  forest  trees,  373,  note. 

Lartet,  M.,  on  palaeontological  chro¬ 
nology,  20. 

on  the  bone-cave  of  Aurignac,  23. 
on  the  Reindeer  Epoch,  31. 

Lead  used  by  Mound  -  builders 
sparingly,  271. 

Leidy,  Prof.,  on  the  Natchez  human 
bone,  60. 

on  the  extinct  mammals  of  Am¬ 
erica,  85,  87,  8g,  go. 
on  the  former  union  of  the  two 
hemispheres,  g3. 


Leidy,  Prof.,  his  comparison  of  the 
Miocene  faunae,  g3. 

Leroux,  M.,  on  New  Mexican  an¬ 
tiquities,  146. 

Lesueur,  M.,  the  first  to  describe 
stone  cists  of  Mound-builders, 
log. 

and  the  artificial  shell-heaps  of 
Indiana,  164. 

Lew'is  and  Clarke,  on  ancient  works 
near  the  Upper  Missouri,  154. 

Lion,  cave,  go. 

fossil,  of  America,  gi. 

Loess,  Rhenish,  conditions  under 
which  formed,  30. 
at  Natchez,  5g. 
at  Petit  Anse,  57. 

Loring,  Mr.,  on  St.  Louis  mound, 
193- 

Long,  Col.,  206. 

Longfellow,  H.  W.,  quoted,  172, 
215,  272. 

‘‘  Lost  Tribes,”  did  not  people  Am¬ 
erica,  322. 

Lubbock,  Sir  John,  cited,  on  the 
grandeur  of  ethnology,  18. 
his  classification  of  the  Human 
Period,  20. 

on  Danish  antiquities,  37,  note, 
on  Swiss-lake  relics,  371. 
on  European  pottery,  236. 
on  barbarian  traditions,  375,  note. 

Lund,  Dr.,  on  the  bone-caves  of 
Brazil,  301. 

Lyell,  Sir  Charles,  on  the  geological 
structure  of  the  Somme  Valley, 
23- 

on  changes  of  climate  in  Den¬ 
mark,  41. 

on  habits  of  the  primeval  man, 
94- 

on  human  remains  in  the  Loess  of 
Natchez,  5g. 

on  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi, 
71- 

on  shell-heaps  of  St.  Simon  s 
Island,  160. 

on  the  unity  of  the  human  race, 
354.  358. 

on  astronomical  causes  as  affect¬ 
ing  earth’s  climate,  382,  385. 

Lyon,  Mr.,  on  mounds  of  the  Wa¬ 
bash  Valley,  132. 


INDEX. 


409 


M. 

Maize,  the  basis  of  American  civil¬ 
izations,  346. 

cultivated  by  Mound  -  builders, 
155- 

Mammalia,  extinct,  of  Somme  Val¬ 
ley,  France,  24. 

in  Brexham  cave,  England,  26. 
in  the  cave  of  Aurignac,  28. 
of  the  Reindeer  Epoch,  31. 
list  of,  in  the  two  hemispheres, 
80. 

Mammoth,  see  Elephant,  fossil. 

Man,  antiquity  of,  in  Europe,  17. 
contemporary  with  extinct  mam¬ 
malia,  20. 

primeval,  character  of,  31. 
traces  of  his  works  in  the  Tertiary 
of  Europe,  50. 

traces  of  his  works  in  America,  95. 
his  habits  during  Reindeer  Epoch, 
31- 

funeral  observances  by,  33. 
his  engravings  on  ivory,  slate,  etc., 

34- 

his  superiority  and  fertility  in  re¬ 
sources,  94. 

antiquity  of,  in  United  States,  52. 
his  remains  in  the  gold-drift  of 
California,  53. 

plummet  from  San  JoaquinValley, 
Cal.,  55. 

basket  -  work  from  Petit  Anse, 
Louisiana,  56. 

his  remains  in  the  Loess  of 
Natchez,  Miss.,  59. 

Hint-heads  in  connection  with 
mastodon.  Mo.,  62. 
stone-hatchet?  in  Drift  of  Jersey 
Co.,  Illinois,  67. 

flint-heads  in  Tertiary  of  Colo¬ 
rado,  69. 

his  skeleton  in  the  Alluvium  of 
New  Orleans,  72. 
his  skeleton  in  a  calcareous  con¬ 
glomerate  of  Florida,  76.  ' 

his  earthworks  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  see  Mounds  and  , 
MOUND-IiUILDERS.  ' 

associated  with  extinct  mammals  | 
in  Brazil,  96,  note, 
his  works  in  the  Quaternary  of 
Ecuador,  96,  note. 


Mandans,  their  fortifications,  175. 
Manners  and  customs,  how  far  a 
guide  in  tracing  ethnic  rela¬ 
tions,  310. 

sacred  observances,  31 1. 
burial  rites,  312. 
human  sacrifices,  315. 
scalping,  317. 

comparison  of  languages,  318. 
form  of  skull,  324. 
civilization  as  manifest  in  art,  328. 
in  iron  smelting,  332. 
in  the  domestication  of  animals 
and  plants,  334. 

Marietta,  Ohio,  earthworks  at,  128. 
Marsh,  Prof.,  90. 

Martins,  M.,  398. 

Mastodon,  of  the  United  States,  his 
range,  84. 
in  Missouri,  62. 
in  Mississippi,  61. 
in  Louisiana,  58. 

Mather, Cotton,  on  Indian  character, 
348,  389. 

Mayas  Indians,  cloth  -  weaving  of, 
224. 

McAdams,  Mr.,  on  hatchet  in  Drift, 
Jersey  County,  Ilk,  67. 
McDowell,  Mr.,  on  clay  cists  in 
North  Carolina,  149. 
Megatherium,  indigenous  to  Ameri¬ 
ca,  92. 

Merom,  Ind.,  works  at,  133. 

Metal  Age,  20. 

Memphis,  Egypt,  ancient  relics  found 
at,  49- 

Mexicans,  their  human  sacriflces, 
183. 

Mexico,  its  Pre-historic  races,  340, 

390- 

specular  iron  in,  333. 
its  ancient  civilization,  341. 
conquest  of,  by  Cortez,  341. 
Miamisburg,  mound  at,  130. 

Mica,  mined  by  Mound-builders, 
270. 

found  in  Grave  Creek  mound, 

'91- 

Mining,  ancient,  near  Lake  Superi¬ 
or,  264. 

in  North  Carolina,  270. 

Miocene  flora  and  fauna,  93. 
shells  in  Colorado,  71. 


410 


INDEX. 


Mississippi,  State  of,  antiquities  in, 

II2. 

delta  of,  74. 

Valley,  antiquities  in,  105,  109. 
fluctuations  of,  173. 

Missouri,  State  of,  antiquities  in,  106. 

Valley,  antiquities  in,  153. 

Molina,  quoted,  221,  397. 
Montezuma,  his  birth-place,  148. 
Moore,  Mr.,  cited,  382. 

Morlot,  M.,  on  the  antiquity  of  Swiss 
Lake-constructions,  47. 

Mortillet,  M.,  on  the  engravings  of 
Reindeer  Epoch,  36. 

Morton,  Dr.  S.  G.,  on  American 
crania,  291,  204,  304,  324. 
on  Indian  mode  of  burial,  189. 
Moulds,  marks  of,  258. 
Mound-builders,  their  works,  in  the 
Northwest,  98. 

on  the  borders  of  Lake  Superior, 
264. 

in  Wisconsin,  their  unique  char¬ 
acter,  98. 

plan  of  works  at  Aztalan,  r02. 
works  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago, 

105. 

on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  105. 
on  the  Lower  Missouri,  106. 
in  the  region  of  St.  Louis,  106. 
great  mound  of  Cahokia,  Ilk,  107. 
great  mound  of  St.  Louis,  107. 
cemetery  on  the  banks  of  the 
Merrimac,  Mo.,  107. 
at  Chester,  Ilk,  108. 
in  Perry  County,  Mo.,  108. 
at  Merom,  la.,  108. 
in  Tennessee,  109. 
their  similarity  to  British  barrows, 
no. 

works  on  the  Lower  Mississippi, 
no. 

in  the  region  of  New  Madrid, 
Mo.,  no. 

in  the  region  of  Belmont,  i  lo. 
in  St.  Francis  Bottom,  no. 
in  Mississippi,  in. 
great  mound  at  Seltzertown,  112. 
works  in  Arkansas,  113. 
in  the  Southwest,  114. 
plan  of,  in  Madison  Parish,  La., 
120. 

on  the  Gulf  Coast,  122. 


Mound  -  builders’  works  on  the 
Etowah  River,  Georgia,  122. 
in  the  Ohio  Valley,  123. 
plan  of,  at  Newark,  O.,  125. 

at  Marietta,  O.,  128. 
great  mound  at  Grave  Creek,  W. 
Va.,  190. 

at  Miamisburg,  O.,  130. 
sepulchral  grottoes  in  Indiana, 
130. 

Fort  Hill,  Illinois,  131. 
works  in  the  Wabash  Valley,  132. 
at  Vincennes,  132. 
plan  of,  at  Azatlan,  133. 
house  foundations  at  Hutsonville, 
139- 

works  at  Laporte,  143. 

in  Northern  Ohio  and  Western 
New  York,  144. 

stone  structures  in  New  Mexico, 
146. 

works  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  148. 

on  theWateree  River,  S.C.,  148. 
clay  caskets  in  North  Carolina, 
149- 

mounds  on  Pacific  Coast,  151. 
works  in  the  Montanic  Region, 
T52. 

dolmens  in  Southern  Utah,  152. 
ancient  hearths  at  Golden  City, 
Cok,  153. 

works  on  Upper  Missouri,  153. 
garden  beds  of  Wisconsin  and 
Michigan,  155. 

Mound-builders,  their  arts,  seeARTS. 
their  crania,  see  Crania. 
their  origin,  probably  tropical, 

338- 

links  connecting  them  with  people 
of  Central  America,  338. 
probable  identity  with  the  Tol- 
tecs,  341. 

their  expulsion  from  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  Valley,  342. 
their  occupancy  of  the  Aztec 
plateau,  342. 

their  assumption  of  supreme 
power,  342. 

not  to  be  identified  with  the  Red 
man,  347. 

their  government  despotic,  346. 
their  agriculture,  155,  345. 
summary  of  their  character,  349. 
the  antiquity  of  their  works,  369. 


INDEX. 


411 


Mound-builders,  the  condition  of 
their  skeletons,  370. 
the  condition  of  the  trees  covering 
their  works,  371. 

Mounds  and  enclosures,  their  eligi¬ 
ble  sites,  1 7 1. 

common  to  the  terraces  rather 
than  the  alluvial  bottoms,  by 
reason  of  inundations,  172. 
classification  of,  173. 
many  of  them  for  defensive  pur¬ 
poses,  174. 

enclosures  characteristic  of  the 
region  fronting  the  Alleghanies, 
175-  .  .  .  . 

not  recognized  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  175. 

altar  or  sacrificial  mounds,  177. 
in  the  Scioto  Valley,  Ohio,  177. 
in  Butler  County,  Ohio,  178. 
description  of  the  altars  and 
offerings,  179. 

sun-worship  probably  practised, 
182. 

human  sacrifices  probably  of¬ 
fered  up,  182. 

erroneous  inferences  deduced 
from  their  artificial  stratifica¬ 
tion,  184. 

stratified  mounds,  their  occur¬ 
rence  elsewhere,  185. 
temple  mounds,  186. 

pyramidal  structure  predomin¬ 
ant,  186. 

first  recognized  in  Wisconsin, 

186. 

sparinirlv  displayed  in  the  Ohio 
^Valley,  186. 

conspicuous  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  187. 

not  analogous  to  the  pyramids, 

187. 

sepulchral  mounds,  188. 

sometimes  erected  over  a  single 
occupant,  188. 

often  used  for  general  burial, 
189. 

position  of  the  corpse,  188. 
both  cremation  and  inhumation 
practised,  i8g. 

Grave  Creek  mound,  sepulchral 
in  character,  190. 
exploration  of  the  St.  Louis 
mound,  193. 


Mound-builders,  sepulchral  mounds, 
exploration  of  Lick  Creek  mound, 
Tennessee,  194. 
of  Scioto  Valley  mounds,  195. 
the  posture  of  the  corpse  vari¬ 
able,  196. 

Mound-building,  common  to  rude 
nations,  197. 
among  the  Greeks,  197. 
ceremonies  at  the  funeral  of 
Achilles,  197. 

at  the  funeral  of  Hector,  19S. 
cost  of,  erected  by  Alexander  over 
the  remains  of  Heplnestion, 
ig8. 

custom  observed  by  Semiramis, 
199. 

Thracians  observe  the  custom, 
199- 

cremation  practised  by  many  races 
of  Europe,  199. 

urn-burial  practised  by  Mound- 
builders,  199. 

cave-burial  practised  by  Mound- 
builders,  200. 

Mounds  of  observation,  on  high 
summits,  200. 

signal  fires  probably  lighted,  200. 
Murchison,  Sir  R.,  on  the  former 
range  of  fossil  elephant,  81. 
Musk-ox,  range  of,  86. 
great  fossil,  87. 

N. 

Nahuas,  see  Toltfxs. 

Natchez,  human  bone  found  at,  59. 
Natchez  Indians,  supposed  remnant 
of  the  Mound-builders,  117. 
their  extermination  by  the  French, 
117. 

first  visited  by  LaSalle,  117,  note, 
were  sun-worshipers,  117,  note. 
Charlevoix’s  visit,  117,  note. 
Neanderthal  skull,  its  low  type,  289. 
Negroid  type,  permanence  of,  353. 
Newark,  Ohio,  earthworks  at,  125. 
New  Mexico,  antiquities  in,  146. 
character  of  people  of,  147,  393. 
their  pottery,  249. 

New  Orleans,  skeleton  found  at,  72. 

Gnathodon  beds  near,  156. 

New  York,  State  of,  antiquities  in, 
144. 


412 


INDEX. 


Niagara  gorge,  age  of,  376. 

Nile  Valley,  pre-historic  remains 
in,  48. 

Northmen,  their  supposed  voyages 
to  America,  400. 

Nott  and  Gliddon,  cited,  76. 

on  Gnathodon  beds  of  Alabama, 
159- 

O. 

Objects  buried  with  the  dead,  181. 
Ohio,  antiquities  in,  123,  195. 

Osage  mastodon  bed,  Missouri,  62, 
Osborn,  Mr,,  on  the  habits  of  the 
Esquimaux,  32. 

“  Ossa  Wormensia,”  286, 

Ovid,  314. 

Owen,  Prof,,  31,  91. 

Ox,  the  great,  89. 

Oxen,  fossil,  of  America,  8g. 

P. 

Pacific  Coast,  antiquities  of,  151. 

shell-heaps  of,  162. 

Palafittes  of  Switzerland,  41. 
Palenque,  its  monuments,  326,  338. 
Palgrave,  Mr...  318, 

Parallelism  in  man’s  existence  on 
the  two  hemispheres,  79, 

Peale,  Mr,,  214, 

Peat-bogs  of  the  Somme,  23, 
of  Denmark,  37. 

Pelasgi,  their  peculiar  habits,  97. 
Pengelly,  Mr,,  investigations  of,  in 
Brixham  cave,  23, 

Pentland,  Mr.,  302. 

Perkins,  Mr.,  208,  212,  222,  259. 
Peru,  its  ancient  civilization,  345, 
395; 

Peruvians,  textile  fabrics  of,  224. 
crania  of,  304. 
sun-worshipers,  311. 

Pestles,  217, 

Petit  Anse,  salt-deposit  at,  56, 
Phillips,  Mr,,  on  American  crania, 

305. 

Phoenicians,  their  knowledge  of 
iron,  333. 

Pidgeon,  Mr.,  on  “  Battle  mound  ” 
at  Vincennes,  132. 

Pile-work  of  Switzerland,  41. 

Pipes  of  Mound-builders,  181,  215, 
246. 


I  Plato,  his  account  of  Atlantis,  394. 
Pliny,  his  silence  as  to  Lake-dwell¬ 
ings,  48. 

Plutarch,  cited,  395. 

1  Polished-stone  Age,  20. 
Pomme-de-Terre  mastodon  bed,  65. 
Pottery  of  Mound-builders,  236. 
Pourtales,  Count,  on  Florida  skele¬ 
ton,  76. 

Pre-historic  races,  20. 

Prescott,  Mr.,  cited,  340. 

Prichard,  Dr.,  on  defects  of  received 
chronology,  355. 

Priest,  Mr.,  108. 

Pueblo  Indians,  distinctive  habits 
of.  147.  393- 

Putnam,  Mr.,  on  the  mounds  at 
Merom,  Ind.,  133. 
at  Hutsonville,  Ill.,  139. 
Pyramidal  mounds,  120. 

Pyramids  of  Egypt,  50. 

R. 

Races  of  men,  permanence  in,  335. 
Rathke,  Dr.,  327. 

Rau,  Mr.,  on  mode  of  drilling,  207. 

on  aboriginal  pottery,  249,  note. 
Rawlinson’s  Herodotus,  see  Hero¬ 
dotus. 

Reindeer,  his  range,  88. 

Reindeer  Epoch,  in  France,  30. 
Retzius,  Dr.,  on  American  crania, 

303,  325- 

on  Esquimaux,  crania,  10,  324, 
note. 

on  deformation  of  skull,  303,  327. 
Rhinocero.s,  extinct,  of  two  hemi¬ 
spheres,  85. 

Richardson,  Sir  John,  on  range  of 
musk-ox,  86. 

I  on  habits  of  Esquimaux,  325,  note. 
Rimmers,  206. 

I  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  on  Peruvian 
crania,  303. 

Rivers,  the  great  highways,  171. 
Rosiere,  M„  on  age  of  Nile  mud, 
49- 

Ruskin,  Mr.,  cited,  325. 

Riitimeyer,  Prof.,  on  Swiss  domes¬ 
ticated  animals,  45. 
on  the  bison.  89. 
on  the  musk-ox  of  America,  87. 

,  Ryan,  Mr.,  288. 


INDEX. 


413 


S. 

Sacred  observances,  311. 

Sacrificial  mounds,  177. 

Sanscrit,  source  of  European  lan¬ 
guages,  318. 

Salt,  made  by  Mound-builders,  248. 
Scalping,  practised  by  Scyths,  317. 
Schiller,  quoted,  313. 

Schmerling,  Dr.,  on  bone-caves  of 
Liege,  21. 

Schomburgh,  Sir  R.,  cited,  303. 
Schoolcraft,  Mr.,  on  ancient  garden- 
beds,  155. 

on  apocryphal  stone  of  Grave 
Creek,  igl. 

on  discoidal  stones,  219. 
on  age  of  mounds,  372. 

Scioto  Valley,  earthworks  in,  124, 
177- 

skull  from,  291. 

Scrapers,  215. 

Sculptures,  stone,  215. 

Scythians,  funeral  ceremonies  of, 
192. 

royal  tomb  of,  explored,  192,  note, 
scalping  by,  317. 
their  knowledge  of  iron,  332. 
their  personal  habits,  334. 
Seltzertown  mound,  112. 

Sepulchral  mounds,  188. 
urns,  247. 

Shaw,  Mr.,  257,  note. 

Shell-banks  of  Gulf  Coast,  156. 
in  Florida,  160,  167. 
on  the  Chesapeake,  161. 
in  Nova  Scotia,  i6i. 
on  New  England  Coast,  162. 
on  Pacific  Coast,  163. 
in  Mississippi  Valley,  164. 
Shell-heaps  of  Denmark,  37. 
Shell-work,  234. 

Shuttle,  233. 

Sitgreaves,  Capt.,  146. 

Skins,  preparation  of,  214. 

Skulls,  see  Crania. 

Smith,  Mr.,  on  Assyrian  chronology, 

357- 

Smithsonian  Institution,  its  publi¬ 
cations  on  ethnology,  5,  preface. 
Somme  Valley,  its  antiquities,  22. 
Spades,  208. 

Spear-heads,  copper,  255.  ! 


Specular  iron,  used  for  ornaments. 
230,  271. 

Spindle-whorl,  234. 

Spitzbergen,  fossil  flora  of,  30. 
Squier  and  Davis,  “Ancient  monu¬ 
ments,”  etc.,  123. 
on  reptilian  mounds  in  Ohio,  loi. 
on  the  extent  of  mounds  and  en¬ 
closures  in  Ohio,  124. 
quoted  on  Newark  works,  125. 
their  sketch  of  Grave  Creek 
mound,  190. 
on  temple  mounds,  186. 
on  a  “  great  defensive  line,”  175. 
on  sacrificial  mounds,  177. 
on  sepulchral  mounds,  179. 
their  explorations  of  sepulchral 
mounds.  1 80. 

on  mounds  of  observation,  200. 
Squier,  Mr.,  on  the  origin  of  the 
the  Aztecs,  340. 

Stelle,  Mr.,  on  shell-heaps  in  Ten¬ 
nessee,  166. 

Stephenson,  Mr.,  on  ancient  works 
in  Georgia,  122. 

Stevens,  Mr.,  on  dissimilarity  of  the 
Pyramids,  with  the  Teocallis, 
187. 

on  absence  of  warlike  scenes  in 
bass-reliefs  of  Central  America, 
197. 

on  civilization  of  Central  America, 

329- 

on  the  ruins  of  Uxmal  398. 
Stimpson,  Dr.,  276. 

Stockwell,  Mr.,  on  the  precession  of 
the  equinoxes,  379,  note, 
on  the  excentricity  of  the  earth’s 
orbit,  384. 

Stone-heaps,  106. 

Stone  Age,  20. 

not  synchronous,  273. 

Stone  implements,  202. 

Strain,  Lieut.,  301. 

Sun-worship,  practised  by  Natchez 
Indians,  II7- 

probably  by  Mound-builders,  182. 
by  Central  Americans,  31 1. 
by  Persians,  182,  31 1. 
by  Romans,  312. 

I  Swallow,  Prof.,  on  the  mounds  of 
Missouri,  106,  112. 

!  Switzerland,  antiquities  in,  41. 


414 


IJSDKX. 


T. 

Taylor,  Mr.,  on  savage  customs,  314, 
315- 

Temple  mounds,  186. 

Tenevieres  of  Switzerland,  44, 

Tennessee,  earthworks  in,  108,  194. 
shell-heaps  in,  166. 

Teocallis  of  Mexico,  187. 

Textile  fabrics,  222. 

Thompson,  Dr.,  on  Egyptian  chron¬ 
ology,  356. 

Thracians,  their  customs,  315, 

Tibiae,  flattened,  309,  note. 

Tiedemann,  M.,  on  Peruvian  skulls, 
302. 

Tiger,  of  Europe,  go. 
fossil,  of  America,  gl. 

Tin,  its  use  known  to  the  pre¬ 
historic  peoples  of  Europe,  47. 
unknown  to  Mound-builders,  253. 

Tlapalan,  ancient  empire  of  Mound- 
builders,  342. 

Tlascalans,  of  Mexico,  341. 

Tobacco,  used  by  Mound-builders, 
215. 

Toltecs,  their  origin,  341. 
their  migration,  342. 
their  arts,  343. 

Tomlinson,  Mr.,  his  exploration  of 
Grave  Creek  mound,  190. 

Torquemada,  cited,  204,  340,  342. 

Totem,  221. 

Traditions,  Indian,  unreliable,  374. 

Truncated  pyramid,  not  analogous 
to  the  Egyptian,  187. 

Tumuli,  see  Mounds. 

Tylor,  Mr.,  on  the  retention  of  use¬ 
ful  arts,  333. 

Tyndall,  Prof.,  on  the  formation  of 
glaciers,  378. 

U. 

Unity  of  the  human  race,  353. 

permanence  of  type  considered, 
.353- 

difficulties  of  supposed  descent, 
according  to  received  chron¬ 
ology,  354- 

opinions  of  various  physiologists, 
357-. 

Urn-burial  practised  by  Mound-, 
builders,  igg. 


Urn-burial,  by  ancient  Chaldeans, 
199. 

Ure,  Dr.,  cited,  228,  note. 

Uxmal,  rums  of,  330. 

V. 

Vanuxem,  Prof.,  on  shell-heaps  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  161. 

Vegetables,  first  use  of,  45. 

Veile,  Dr.,  stone  implements  from 
Yucatan,  208  note,  212. 
Vincennes,  mounds  at,  132. 

Vivian,  Mr.,  26. 

Vogt,  Carl,  cited,  gi. 

on  effects  of  culture,  336. 

W. 

Wallace,  Mr.,  on  unity  of  race  in 
man,  357. 

Water-jugs,  237. 

Westhropp,  Mr.,  cited,  317. 

Walker,  Mr.,  159. 

Weights,  230. 

Welsh,  their  supposed  voyage  to 
America,  400. 

Whipple,  Lieut.,  on  antiquities  of 
New  Mexico,  146. 
on  distinctive  habits  of  Pueblo 
Indians,  147. 

Whitney,  Prof.,  on  age  of  Calaveras 
skull,  53. 

on  age  of  gold-drift  of  California, 

54- 

on  absence  of  Drift  action  in 
California,  54. 

on  prevalence  of  man’s  works  in 
Drift  gravels,  56. 

Whittlesey,  Col.,  on  ancient  hearths 
in  the  Ohio  Valley,  77. 
his  survey  of  Newark  works,  125. 
his  classification  of  mounds,  144. 
on  archaeological  frauds,  400, 
note. 

Wilkes,  Com.,  151. 

Wilkinson,  Mr.,  cited,  329. 
Winslow,  Dr.,  his  discovery  of  man’s 
remains  in  the  Gold-drift  of  Cali¬ 
fornia,  52. 

Wilde,  Sir  R.  li.,  on  classification 
of  arrow-heads,  204. 

Wilson,  Dr.,  “  Pre-historic  Man,” 
cited,  327,  328,  note. 


IKDEX. 


415 


Wilson,  Mr.,  his  researches  in  Ecu¬ 
ador,  g6. 

Wisconsin,  antiquities  in,  98. 
Woods,  Mr.,  223. 

Woorsac,  Prof.,  39. 

Worship,  see  Sun-worship. 
Worthen,  Prof,  on  the  Drift  de¬ 
posits  of  Jersey  County,  Ill.,  66. 
Writing,  pictorial,  of  Indians,  521. 
of  Aztecs,  322. 

hieroglyphic,  of  Central  America, 
322. 

Wyman,  Prof,  on  the  shell-heaps  of 
New  England,  162. 
on  .shell-heaps  of  Florida,  167, 


Wyman,  Prof,  antiquity  of  shell- 
heaps  of  P'lorida,  168. 
character  of  crania,  l6g. 
on  Mound-builders’  crania,  308, 
note. 

on  aboriginal  shell-work,  236. 
Wyoming,  pre-historic  remains  in, 
69. 

Z. 

Zoroaster,  31 1. 

Zuni,  ruins  of,  147. 

Zuni  Indians,  supposed  remnant  of 
the  Aztecs,  147. 

Zurich,  Lake,  41. 


1 


